


Scars

by DavinaCFox



Category: The Melancholy Fantastic (2016)
Genre: AU, Age Difference, Attempted Murder, Best Friends, Blood and Violence, Body Image, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Guns, Healing, Hope, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Making Love, Mentions of Cancer, Oral Sex, Orgasm, Police, Scars, Serial Killer, Strong Female Characters, Survival, Trauma, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:54:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 61,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22887400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DavinaCFox/pseuds/DavinaCFox
Summary: AU fic. Dukken is twenty five years old, and the only surviving victim of serial killer Melanie 'Dollmaker' Crow, and scarred mentally and physically from her attempt on his life. Homicide Detective Kelly Beck is forty years old and bitter at life after a messy divorce and scarred emotionally and physically from her battle with breast cancer. With Crow locked away and the case closed, Kelly offers to help out the young man who has lost everything including his home due to his injuries and his long recovery. Then the unexpected happens, as tough Kelly and gentle Dukken grow closer, and it seems they will both heal each other with the love they have found, despite the envy and prejudice they encounter from others towards their age gap relationship.Sixteen years on, forty-one year old Dukken is a successful artist and happily married to fifty-six year old Kelly, and has put the past behind him. Then Melanie Crow escapes from a psychiatric facility, and the first thing she will do is target Dukken, her only surviving victim - but Melanie doesn't know their story, and has seriously underestimated what Dukken and Kelly will do to stay alive and stay together, no matter what it takes...
Relationships: Dukken (The Melancholy Fantastic)/Original Female Character
Comments: 42
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is Au. Dukken is a real person and Melanie Crow is a serial killer.
> 
> If you are familiar with my other works, you will know I write very strong female characters. If you like Molly from my Gotham serial His Irish Angel, you will also love Detective Kelly Beck!
> 
> This fic is dark in places, but is also a very tender love story in the middle of a harsh life. 
> 
> Here's a brief warning, expect very strong language and strong sexual language and mentions of Dukken's stabbing and of Kelly's survival as a breast cancer survivor.
> 
> Enjoy the fic
> 
> Love Davina :-)

Chapter 1

**The Past:**

_There was so much blood,_ _smeared over the fridge and pooling on the floor._ Melanie Crow had stabbed Dukken with such ferocity, the second wound had almost driven the knife right through his body. The doll wearing a copy of his clothing had been found in another room, stuffed with paper and that was now shredded with the same knife she had used to stab her living victim. It seemed Melanie had found a replacement for her latest focus of attention, so she had decided to kill Dukken just like she had killed her own mother and later on burned her effigy in a field...

Melanie had moved on from Dukken swiftly, shifting her focus to a young guy who worked in a convenience store, she was over at his house enjoying Christmas when the police came, after spotting her car parked outside. Fortunately for him, the blood was still drying in her bathroom from stabbing Dukken, so her new obsession wasn't in any immediate danger and quite unsuspecting - and even initially angry - that the cops had rushed in, slammed Melanie to the ground and cuffed her. _No one_ expected armed police to show up at Christmas, especially not homicide detectives...

Melanie Crow had not initially been a suspect in the case of several missing persons over the past eight month period. Not until she had ignored calls from the legal company handling her late mother's estate. There were papers to be signed and she was not picking up the phone... Eventually, sick of getting no response and concerned for the bereaved young woman, a kind company lawyer decided to call on her personally, with documents that needed her signature. And that was when Dukken was found, in an empty house and bleeding out on the floor in a blood soaked kitchen.

The cops had soon figured it out.

A few days before, a burned doll was found in a field. A month before that, an effigy of a local girl had been found in a ditch, the paper head sliced to ribbons with a sharp object. The girl had been reported missing two weeks before. In all, five people had been reported missing over the past few months, and now it was clear they all linked to Melanie Crow...

As for Dukken, he was her only surviving victim – although for a long time, his survival hung in the balance. After massive blood loss and major surgery to repair his injuries, he was in a coma, and stayed in a coma for the next six months. By the time he was waking, the case was over. Melanie Crow was declared insane and sent to a secure psychiatric hospital where she was sentenced to remain indefinitely. The case had attracted all kinds of media attention to the small quiet town, but after the funerals were over, the case was forgotten, as Dukken quietly lay in a coma, unaware of what had happened.

Detective Kelly Beck had done more than her fair share to crack the case. She had been the one to suggest digging up the mother's body, and sure enough, Melanie's mother had not died by suicide as first suspected. The high levels of sedative in her body and the still visible, neat and deliberate, careful slashes to both her wrists did not align with suicide. No one could have done that so neatly whilst dosed up on a fatal amount of sedative. The razor used to slice her wrists was found strung with others, shining silver as they hung in a sinister garland on Melanie's Christmas tree.

_Finding the other dolls had been the biggest lead._

_Then the cops had started digging, and turned up the corpses..._

The case had been solved and Melanie was in an asylum now. And Kelly had managed all of this with help from her police detective partner Jack Astor. They had worked together for more than eleven years, and they had got a reputation, Beck and Astor, who always solved the crime.

But Kelly Beck had handled the Dollmaker case in the aftermath of a divorce that had turned messy when her husband of nine years, who had not been a husband to her for five of those years, had decided to get nasty over the house. Kelly had kept the house and later sold it, and the divorce went through and finally she was free to look forward again - until she found a lump in her left breast one morning when she was in the shower. Months later, she had lost her breast to surgery and her hair to chemo but she was cancer free. And she had gone back to work after recovering, and straight into the Dollmaker case...

When it was over, she had carried on solving murders, but life had changed:

_She didn't feel happy any more._

_She guessed she ought to, because everyone said how lucky she was._

_Lucky to have one breast and a scar on the other side of her chest?_

_Lucky her marriage had crumbled?_

_So who was the lucky guy who would want her now, body scarred and ruined, at the age of forty?_

_She guessed she had little to offer a relationship now her trust was gone and so was her confidence in her own body..._

And the rage started to grow.

Jack had noticed, he was a good friend, her tall and heavyset police partner whose humour never failed him. They had been chasing a suspect up a flight of stairs and when he had tackled him and cuffed him, breathless Jack had turned to her and said, “DNA proves this guy killed those two women. We've got the killer... Oh, wait...you _still_ look tense...”

“One of those days,” Kelly replied.

He looked down at the cuffed murderer.

“DNA also proves he raped one of those women,” he added, “And you need to let off some steam... I'm going to wait in the car. Have fun!”

Jack had turned for the stairs. Kelly had glared down at the rapist-murderer, and kicked him square in the nuts...

Thirty minutes later, the suspect was charged, and bruised and bleeding in police custody. Jack had done this before, telling her to let off steam and kick a scumbag when life got her down. He knew what she had been through. He was married, had been for thirteen years and had five kids with his wife Laura. They had both been a huge source of support while Kelly had gone through her treatment, and she thought of them both as family, along with his noisy twin boys and his two older girls and the baby boy Laura had given birth to eight months before. Jack was her closest friend, too. And he had told her, when they were at work and out catching killers, if she felt like beating up a scumbag who had blood on their hands, he would look away, let her do it and hopefully it would reduce her stress levels. It was the third time he had advised her to take it out on a killer. And this time, despite being charged with double murder and rape, the suspect, who had broken ribs, accused Kelly of battering him while he was cuffed.

Jack had sworn the guy had fallen.

Kelly had done the same.

But their captain had said they were both suspended, pending an investigation.

This was _not_ what either of them had planned, but that was how it had turned out...

It was dark as Jack drove Kelly back to her apartment. He parked the car outside and for a short while, they sat in silence.

“Well, I guess I fucked up,” he said as he looked at her apologetically.

“No, you didn't,” Kelly replied, shaking her head, “As much as no one sympathises with a murderer, the complaint has to be processed. And I need to keep a lid on my anger.”

Jack looked at her thoughtfully.

“Kelly, I'm fully aware of what you've been through. And I know stress and anger can be worse for your health than turning to booze. I'm just trying to stop you getting sick again -”

“You can't do that,” she reminded him, “I don't know if the cancer will come back. No one does. And that is why I'm angry at the world. I never asked for this, I never deserved this.... I hate my life.”

“It won't always be this way,” he told her, “ Think about a year from now – life could be great. And as for the suspension, there were no other witnesses, give it a couple of months and it will blow over. We just have to find another way for you to distract yourself from all this anger. I hate it when you talk like you have nothing in life to look forward to. I mean it, I really detest it, Kelly. You're right, you don't deserve what happened to you – but I can't change that and I wish I could...”

He paused for thought, then he remembered something.

“I heard the Doll maker's last victim, Dukken, is out of his coma. Apparently he's got nowhere to go, too. His landlord kicked him out because of unpaid rent, but the tight bastard's holding on to some of his stuff in the hope he might come back and part with cash to get it back. Dukken's still in the hospital, he doesn't know he's homeless yet. He's lost everything. You've got a spare room. Why don't you help him get back on his feet? The case is closed, there's no reason why you can't help out – if you wanted to.”

She paused for thought, recalling Dukken, the young man who had been so viciously stabbed by Melanie Crow. She had never spoken to him because he had been in a coma since her involvement started in the case, but she knew all about him:

He was a former art student, used to work in a music store, he was described as quirky with his love of all things goth and had a gentle and warm personality. He had also been described as a quiet, shy person - certainly not the type to put up a fight, and he would have stood no chance when Melanie had plunged that blade into his body. His parents had died in an accident when he was in his teens. He had no one, and when she and Jack had been to the hospital to visit him while he was in the coma, she had noticed he had no flowers, no one had been to see him. It had upset her to think that young man was all alone. Others who knew him had said wasn't the type to go out and socialise much, his life had been work and going straight home after, but he loved to read and spent a lot of time at the local library - where he had met Melanie. He had no girlfriend, his parents were dead and a few people recalled him from college but had described him as shy even back then. And now he had lost his home and his job and was recovering from a terrible injury to find he had nothing left of his old life...

“Do you think he would want my help?” she asked.

Jack shrugged.

“I don't know, Kelly. He might. And I was thinking, you've been through a lot and he's been through a lot, you could help each other. There's only so much counselling sessions can do when it comes to life changing events, and I guess you can't keep taking things out on the people we arrest, even if they are monsters! You need to try something different, maybe connecting with Dukken might help you both, as two people who have been through a bad time in different ways?”

“That's a good idea. And we know I need to stop breaking the rules. We'll both lose our jobs if I don't sort this out!”

He gave a sigh.

“I'm sure it won't come to that. But we will be out of action for a while. Just don't worry, it will blow over. And I really think you should go and see Dukken, ask him if he wants a place to stay for a while. It could be good for both of you.”

“Well, we do have a link – the case,” she agreed, “Okay, I'll go and see him tomorrow.”

Jack nodded.

“I think that's a great idea... and here's the address of his landlord, in case you want to pick up his stuff for him.”

He pulled a small notepad from his pocket, wrote down the address and tore off the page and handed it to Kelly.

“And try and stay out of trouble – at least, don't get caught!”

She shook her head.

“I'm _not_ fucking up again, Jack! Goodnight.”

“I'll call you,” Jack replied, and then he paused to hug her tightly, then she left her best friend's car and headed back to her apartment.

_Kelly had now made the decision to offer help to Dukken._

_She didn't know him, but she knew of him._

_And working on the Dollmaker case, she felt as if she did know him._

_She certainly sympathised with him..._

In the days that followed, she knew this time, Jack's suggestion had been a good one. Dukken had been dealt a shit hand in life, and so had she. And maybe the two of them would get along. Even if they didn't, she had a spare room and he could stay until he got his life back on track. And she was pretty sure if they didn't get along he would find somewhere else quickly...

Two days later, she woke early. Kelly had taken time getting ready that morning, the weather was warm and she wasn't going to work because as much as they just wanted to close the case and put away a double murderer who was also a rapist, there was the matter of the prisoner's allegation of assault. Jack seemed sure they would put that one to bed quickly, but she worried, because if she lost her job, who would want to employ her now?

She thought about it as she stood in front of the bedroom mirror, wearing jeans that clung to her lower body. She was topless as she looked into the glass, seeing reflected a slim woman who never used to be as skinny as she was now, and her shoulder length hair was now a short, dark red crop that framed her face.

_She didn't want to look lower, but she did._

It was the same morning ritual every day, to dare too look, and see a missing breast and a scar across her chest where it used to be. Her gaze stayed on her reflection for a moment. All the counselling in the world wouldn't make her feel any better about this. She was wrecked, she would never feel attractive again. _Who the hell would want her now? And who the hell would employ her if she lost her job over the assault charges? Who would want a cop working for them that may or may not drop dead if the cancer came back?_

_She felt like the entire world was against her._

Then she looked away, grabbed her bra and put it on, pausing to stuff the empty cup with a gel padding. She had been offered a breast reconstruction, but had declined. She had decided at the time, if her body was going to be carved up like that, scars would be left behind no matter what was done, and surviving came first. She didn't want the extra hours of surgery for the reconstruction. She had decided, lose the breast, lose the cancer, then cover up the scars and get on with life.

_But getting on with life wasn't something she could easily do._

_Life would never feel the same again..._

That thought was on her mind as she put on some make up, then she sprayed her hair and put on her shoes and left the bedroom. Heading for the front door, she wondered if Dukken had already found somewhere to stay by now. She didn't know, she was yet to ask him...

She left the apartment, got into her car and started on the drive to the hospital. On the way over, she turned her thoughts to him instead of herself.

_He had lost everything._

_He had lost his home and his job._

And she had seen the medical reports – his body was marked by huge, ugly scars from the surgery to fix the stab wounds. He was scarred for life. No doubt he was traumatised as well. Melanie had claimed Dukken had liked her, wanted to get to know her, and probably fuck her, too, she had said, and then a manic gleam had come to her eyes as she had leaned on the table in the interview room, looking at Jack as she added:

“ _But I knew he would leave me. Everyone does. Only the dolls stay... But they can't always be trusted. Sometimes they start to hate me...”_

“ _Why do they hate you, Melanie?” Jack had asked._

“ _Because they know they're dead people!” she had whispered as malice shone in her eyes._

_Jack had looked back at her, saying nothing._

_Later on, when he had returned from speaking to the prisoner, as Kelly walked into the office after returning from checking out the crime scene for herself, she had looked at him and he had looked at her and shook his head._

“ _She's insane,” was all he said quietly._

_ That was unusual for Jack.  _

_ In the years they had worked together, they had solved some horrible cases and Jack handled the horror with humour, like the time they had caught a slasher killer who lured young guys on dates and then cut their throats. Shockingly, the trail had led back to a young woman who was working evenings as a babysitter. She had resisted arrest and after taking a swipe at Jack with an open razor, had run up to the attic and jumped from the window, landing in a bloody splattered heap on the concrete driveway far below. As the shattered head attached to her twisted neck oozed blood and brains, they had stood there looking down from the open window as Jack had holstered his gun and looked at Kelly. _

“ _I'd better call home and tell Laura to cancel our dinner Friday night,” he remarked, “Looks like the baby sitter can't make it!”_

_ That was how they always dealt with the bad stuff. Dark humour, because to take everything in for the horror that it was, surely led on a path to depression and trauma and nervous breakdown. So he always had a joke for any situation. But Jack had nothing remotely humorous to say after meeting Melanie Crow. He had looked into Kelly's eyes and his expression had almost seemed haunted for a moment. _

“ _I've met some sickos in my time,” he said in a hushed voice, “But she's something else entirely...”_

The case was still on her mind as she reached the hospital then went into the building, making a point of speaking to the nurses on the reception where she and Jack had visited before, because they knew she was one of the cops who had solved the case, and they didn't know she was now suspended.  _ Not that it mattered _ , she decided as she was directed to his room on the first floor.

As Kelly walked in, she had expected him to be up, sitting on his bed and watching TV, or maybe reading because that was one of his passions. She had not been told by the staff exactly how he was doing, because they had assumed she knew, and clearly she didn't, until now. 

The room was silent. The TV was off and Dukken was in bed, wearing a dark t shirt, with the covers up to his hips. He was on his back and sleeping, and she closed the door quietly behind her and looked about the room. There was a chair over by the wall, and she sat there, keeping a distance. She didn't want him waking up with a jolt to see a strange woman at his bedside, not after what he had been through...

She waited as the clock on the wall ticked quietly and the hour hand shifted. While he slept, she sat there on the chair by the wall, looking at the young man who slept soundly as sunlight streamed in through the window. This hospital was the same place where she had gone through her treatment, and she had not expected anything else to be on her mind, coming back here to see Dukken. But now all she could think, what struck her at once, was how attractive this guy was: 

He was beautiful. She took in his pale features and the rise and fall of his chest as he slept, the way the sunlight made his fair hair shine like gold. She couldn't take her gaze off him. She wondered how someone so handsome could have lived such a quiet, lonely existence – but maybe he liked being alone, some people did...

Then he turned his head to the window and gave a sigh as he opened his eyes. He looked out at the view of the sunlight and the blue sky and saw treetops and trees covered with green leaves, then he sensed he wasn't alone, turned his head and his pale hazel gaze met with the dark brown eyes of a woman he had never seen before. 

Dukken's mind was foggy from sleep, since waking from the coma he had been struggling to make a full recovery, and tiredness often swept over him. He had been dreaming about the winter, about the snow and the cold and how cold he had felt in Melanie's kitchen as he slid to the floor in a pool of his own blood.  _ Cold, cold and snow. Everything white apart from the splash of blood... _ He blinked as he looked at the woman sat on the other side of the room.

“Where's the snow gone?” he whispered.

Kelly looked back at him.

“It melted.” She replied. 

It took him a few minutes to come back to reality, then he sat up in his bed keeping a hand pressed to his scars, thankful they were hidden by his t shirt as he sat there in bed looking to the woman who told him her name was Kelly, and she was a police detective. She told him everything about the case, assuring him Melanie was locked away and that it was over now. Then she told him about the apartment being rented out to someone else, and that he had lost his job. Kelly had hated to spell it all out like that, But Dukken told her he knew the job was gone. He had been hoping to keep his home, he had assumed it was empty and locked up.

“I need to get my stuff back, my clothes and my art works,” he said as he rested against pillows and kept a hand over his belly, feeling conscious about the scarring beneath his t shirt. Kelly Beck was an attractive woman, he had noticed that as soon as he had woken up, after dreaming about his almost death, then wondering if he was dead, then for a split second wondering if he was in heaven and she was angel. He dismissed that thought and blamed it on his meds, then he listened as she said she had a spare room and her place was on the edge of his town, a short drive from the city. 

“I'm a few miles from where you lived,” she told him, “I can stop by and speak to your landlord.”

“You'd do that for me?” he said in surprise.

“Yes, why not? I'm happy to help you.”

Dukken paused for thought, briefly smiling as he felt a flicker of nervousness. She was so kind, and so pretty – and she was a cop. He couldn't be in a safer place than renting a room from a cop, and not just any cop, but one of the detectives who had helped to capture Melanie Crow...

“I do need a place to stay,” he said,” I want to get out of here. I can leave at the end of the week if I have somewhere to go. Are you sure about this? What about your husband or your kids? Won't I get in the way?”

“I don't have any kids, Dukken. And my husband became my ex a year ago. But our marriage had been over a lot longer then that. I'm all by myself. We had a house, we sold it and I bought an apartment. And then...”

Dukken looked at her intently.

“And then what?”

She hesitated. He didn't need to know the rest, and she didn't want to talk about it, either...

“And I have a spare room and you're welcome to use it until you get back on your feet,” she said with a smile. 

Dukken didn't know what to say as he looked back at her.

“Thanks,” he said, as he thought how pretty she was, and how safe he would feel, sharing a place with a cop.

“I'll stop by and speak to your landlord today,” she told him, “Don't worry about your stuff, I'll collect it for you and take it back to my place.” 

“I'm grateful,” he said , smiling shyly, then he suddenly looked as worried as he felt.

“My landlord Mr Bagalow can be a bit nasty sometimes... I owe him a lot of money, I've been in here for months.”

He looked so worried. She didn't know him well enough to hug him.

“I've already worked out what kind of guy he is to throw you out and demand money in return for your personal possessions after all you've been through.” she replied, “Don't worry, I'll handle it...” 

There it was again, that shy, nervous smile that made her heart feel warm.

“I'll handle it,” she assured him again, “I'll get your stuff for you, Dukken...” 

Meeting Dukken had been a very uplifting surprise for Kelly. She had left the building assuring him again that she would fetch his belongings for him, and as he had smiled and thanked her, she had felt warmer in her heart than she had for a long, long while. She didn't waste any time, driving over to the address of his landlord. When she reached the old apartment building and got out of the car, she had taken one look at the place, and the neighbourhood in general and drawn the conclusion the place was a shithole, and no doubt the guy who owned it got as much money out of his tenants as he could, whilst doing the barest minimum to improve their standard of living. 

She pressed the buzzer and he answered, then she waited outside. When he opened up the door she had no badge to flash, but she introduced herself formally all the same. He blinked, then stood there staring at her, wondering why a homicide detective would be calling here... Kelly looked back at him, getting a measure of the guy: He was tall and muscular, and his shirt was designer and stank of body odour and a trace of booze. He wore a heavy gold bracelet and two gold rings, clearly he was doing well out of renting out this dump even if caring for his tenants and his own personal hygiene wasn't high on his list of priorities.

“I'm here to collect Mr Dukken's personal possessions,” she said.

“Fine,” he replied abruptly as he fished keys from his pocket, “Follow me.”

Kelly followed him around the back of the building, then around to a row of garages, and as he began to unlock a garage with paint peeling from the door, he paused, leaving the keys dangling in the lock as further up the wide, dirty alley, rats scurried and squeaked.

“He owes me money. I take it you have the money?”

She stood there looking at him, pausing for thought.

“He was lured in by a serial killer, stabbed so severely he almost bled to death and went into a coma for months, he's lost his job and his life is shattered and you respond by throwing him out in his absence, racking up rent arrears and holding his personal possessions to ransom? This case has been all over the news, you know what happened to him, his life will never be the same again!”

“I don't give a shit, he was a weirdo anyway – weird little loner, I'm not surprised some crazy woman sliced him up. I don't care if he lives or dies. He'd be no loss anyway.”

She glared at him as she felt her anger rising.

“ _I'm here for his stuff.”_

“Money first.”

She stepped closer.

“He doesn't have any!”

“Then he can fuck off and so can you!”

Her eyes narrowed.

“ _What_ did you say to me?”

He leaned in, breath stinking of stale booze.

“I said, fuck off, you stupid bitch!”

She leaned in level with his gaze.

“Open that door now, or I'll make you do it!”

“You've got no right to talk to me like that. I want my money!”

She paused to check her pockets and then gave a shrug.

“Nope, Sorry, I checked – no money for you, and I also have no flying fucks left to give. _Open the garage!_ ”

“You'd better forget this conversation and run along, bitch,” he said to her.

“Or what?” she asked darkly.

His fist curled up tight.

“Or I make you.”

“Don't push me,Mr _Bagashit_ ,” she warned him.

He smirked, stepping back, still with his fist curled solid.

“Okay,” he paused, looking her up and down, his gaze lingering on the shape of her breasts beneath her blouse, “Calm your tits, bitch!”

_ That did it.  _

_ Kelly lunged. _

Less than a minute after she lunged, his face was turned to the side, pressed up against the peeling paintwork of the garage as she twisted his arm harder behind his back and he gave a yell.

“ _Say it!”_ she said angrily.

“ _You're breaking my arm, let go!”_ he wailed.

“Say it,” she ordered again, twisting his arm harder as she kept him pinned.

He drew in a breath.

“I'm a drunken smelly pig...” he mumbled.

“Louder!” she demanded, twisting his arm again.

“ _I'm a drunken smelly pig!”_

“And what else?”

“Let me go!” he whined.

“What _else_ are you?” she said, keeping his arm taut as his face squashed against the paintwork.

“I'm a money grabbing cunt who doesn't give a shit about anyone but myself.... _I said it, now let me go!_ ”

Kelly slammed him against the garage as she let go, then as he turned around she pulled five bucks from her pocket and shoved it into his mouth, then gave him a push towards the building as he coughed and pulled it out and gasped for air.

“Keep that, buy yourself some deodorant, you fucking _stink!_ ” she snapped.

“What right do you have to do this to me?” he whined.

Kelly glared at him.

“My badge says I can. And I don't care if you complain - but I _will_ be coming back if you do. _Get out of my sight!_ ”

He saw the anger flash in her eyes again. He turned around and hurried off towards the building. Kelly turned the key stiffly in the lock and opened up the garage. It didn't take long to transfer Dukken's clothing and boxes of art materials to her car. Half an hour later, the car was loaded up and she was on her way home. 

The first thing Kelly did when she returned home was line up the bags of clothing and start to load up the washing machine. Dukken's clothes had been in the garage for months, and they smelled damp. But she was going to put that right. While the first wash was on, she moved the boxes one by one to the spare room, she left them in a corner, and as she placed the final one on top she opened it up, seeing a camera inside. There was a canvas in there, an oil painting of a bird in flight, and she moved it aside and found a sketch pad. Curiosity prompted her to open it up. 

What she found next surprised her, it seemed Dukken liked to draw landscapes and birds. Then she turned the pages and saw a drawing of a place she recognised – the long, empty road near the field where the burned doll had been found. It seemed Dukken had liked to spend time walking those quiet roads, and now she knew why, he used what he saw in his art... She turned the page again and stopped, as she realised the previous drawing of the road had been emphasised on the curves of the road itself, and he had written the word _ Pathway _ on it, and he had written the same on this drawing, too – but it wasn't a picture of a road... This was a drawing of his own body, his face, eyes darkened with eye liner, then on the next page, his chest and his shoulder. The next page was a very alluring image of his hip and down towards his groin, with emphasis on the shape of his body. She closed the sketch pad and put it back as she wondered: 

_ What was on that camera? _

She put the sketch pad back in the box, then she left his stuff alone because she felt guilty for touching it. He was an artist, and his drawings were his business, she had no right to be prying... 

Kelly made the bed, opened a window to let in some air, then she transferred the washed clothing to the dryer and put on yet another load of washing. And then she took the camera from the box, found the batteries were dead and took them out and replaced them. The digital camera came on right away and she took a look at what was saved on it:

And  _ that _ was when she sat down on the sofa, feeling more than a little guilty as she caught sight of his naked body part in shadow, taken from different angles. His body was firm and athletic, she couldn't see anything explicit because of the angle of the shots, and she guessed it was something to do with some kind of project he was working on... Maybe he was planning to use pictures or paintings on a shape of the body theme. He had taken these picture months ago, before he had met Melanie, before she had stabbed him... 

_ Stabbed him and destroyed the perfection of his flawless body forever...  _

As that thought hit her, she felt an ache in heart and she turned the camera off. She put it back in the box and then she went to grab a shower, and she was still thinking about those pictures, and about Dukken. Then she got out of the shower and as she stood there in front of the mirror she caught sight of her body, and the scar where her breast used to be .

“Stop it, Kelly,” she said aloud, telling herself there was no chance she and Dukken would ever be more than friends, no matter how attractive he was, no matter what a nice guy he was, nothing would pull her and him towards each other. She was older than him. Her body was wrecked. He wouldn't think of her as anything more than a friend. She had to get used to that now, she decided, because to think other wise would lead to nothing but heartache. But all the same, as she closed her eyes later that night, she thought about a lot of things:

How Dukken had warmed her heart, and how she had felt so angry and protective towards him when his pig of a landlord had been so cruel. It wasn't just the way he had spoken to her, it was what he had said about Dukken that had also fired up her rage. She wouldn't hesitate to protect him, she knew it as she closed her eyes, faintly smiling as sleep beckoned and she pictured Dukken's eyes meeting hers as he smiled shyly back at her. She also reminded herself again, nothing would come of this. They would be no more than friends...

And while she slept that night, Kelly wasn't aware that Dukken was drifting off to sleep in his hospital bed, looking forward to finally leaving this place soon, and as he closed his eyes he smiled too, thinking about that pretty lady detective, and how safe she made him feel. He had instantly liked Kelly Beck, although he was sure she didn't realise that. He was also sure he was too shy to ever let her know how much he liked her, and that was his last thought before drifting off to sleep, as he dreamed about a lady detective with soft brown eyes and a smile that almost made him forget all he had been through...  



	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The days passed by quickly. Kelly visited Dukken for a second time, the day before he was due to leave the hospital and this time when they met, he wasn't sleeping. He was up and dressed and they sat together in his room as he talked about how much he was looking forward to leaving this place and trying to get back to normal.

Kelly wasn't sure if he realised yet, that after something so traumatic there wasn't really any such thing as _normal_ any more, there could only ever be, before and after. But she was sure he would realise that soon, because this theory of hers wasn't just about her own life changing trauma – she had seen plenty of victims of crime go through the same, never being able to go back to life as it was before, because that had been a safe place, where bad things were unthinkable, and once something terrible had occurred...

_No, no one ever went back to the same sense of safety, because that was all torn away...All that was left was the broken pieces and whether or not a person could make a success of their life in the aftermath, depended on how good they were at putting the pieces back together._

“Did you manage to get my art materials when you saw my landlord?” Dukken asked her, “And there's a camera -”

“Yes, I got everything,” she said with a smile, deliberately not thinking about those images she had seen on his camera.

She didn't want him to know she had looked. Kelly had decided when he left the hospital they would have plenty of time, as they got to know each other, for her to bring up the subject of the images he created. She wanted to know more about it, because he fascinated her. From the moment she had looked at his work, she had been drawn in by the shades of light and dark and the way he focussed on sweeping lines, as if everything he saw was made of pathways – leading to what? She didn't doubt they would have many interesting conversations once he was out of the hospital and settled in to her place. It was starting to dawn on her that Dukken was a person with talents that he didn't shout about, and maybe, he should...

She didn't know much about art. She knew when she saw a piece that she liked, but she was no expert. But Kelly did know someone who was – her name was Mandy and she owned an art gallery in town. There had been a breakin there a few years back and a security guard had been shot dead. After the case had been resolved with an arrest and the stolen pieces recovered, Mandy had invited her and Jack to come over to an exhibition. Kelly had loved it but Jack had spent most of his time outside on the phone, talking to his wife. Art wasn't really his thing. _Apart from that picture with the naked people_ , he had whispered to her as they stood there in the gallery surrounded by a crowd who knew more about art than either of them ever would, and Kelly had laughed loudly and a few heads had turned, “Is it for sale?” Jack had added, “I'll give her fifty bucks for that one! Do you think she might be tempted by my generous offer?” The price tag for those artworks ran into thousands, some even higher, and Jack knew that. Kelly had laughed again...

But as she sat there talking with Dukken, she decided, once he was moved in and getting used to what ever kind of _normal_ he could still find in his life, she would tell him about Mandy and see if he wanted to share his work.

“I'm looking forward to this,” he said with a shy smile, “Moving in with you. I'm glad I'll be sharing with a cop, I'll feel a lot safer. I don't know if that makes sense because we both know Melanie can't get to me again, but I do, I feel so much safer.”

She smiled as she nodded.

“Believe me, that makes perfect sense,” she told him, “When something terrible happens, when we have no control over a situation and we're under threat or we fully expect not to come out the other side of the event, its normal to want to find a feeling of safety, even when it's all over and the threat is gone. I know exactly what you mean.”

As Dukken sat there on his bed, he met her gaze thoughtfully.

“Did something bad happen to you?”

Looking into his eyes had been comfortable and nice and she had not wanted to look away, but as he asked that question, she glanced away from him quickly.

“I've been through a lot, it's over now, but I know what trauma feels like. And...” she paused, then as she met his gaze, she saw him looking back at her with eyes that reflected trust and honesty and she knew she had to tell him the reason why she wasn't working right now.

“On another subject, I don't want you think badly of me but I'm currently suspended from duty because there was an incident following an arrest. Me and Jack had caught a suspect – a double murderer and rapist. I was having a bad day and I got rough with him. He claims I beat him up.”

“Did you?”

Now he had asked that question, she wasn't going to insult him with a lie.

“Me and Jack are best friends. Jack helped me through a bad time in my life and he worries about what stress can do to me, he worries about my health. So he looked away while I -”

“You gave a rapist and murderer what he deserved,” Dukken guessed, “Well, you see that kind of stuff every day, it must get to you. I don't know how you can handle people who do things like that. I'm not saying it was right, I'm just saying, the guy deserved it,” he smiled, shaking his head as he added, “I could never do your job, I couldn't look at crime scenes and dead bodies and go after the people who did it. I hate violence, and I'd never use a gun. I'd be the worst homicide detective ever!” he laughed, “Can you imagine it, _I need to arrest you but I won't be using force, so can you please come with me, I'm asking nicely?_ ” he laughed again as Kelly smiled.

“Believe me,” she told him, “You wouldn't want to do my job. Sometimes I wonder how I manage it. We do see some terrible stuff sometimes.”

Dukken rested comfortably on his bed as he paused for thought.

“What's the worst case you ever worked on?”

Her smile faded. There was only one answer to that question.

“Melanie Crow,” she replied.

He nodded, falling silent for a moment as he thought back to all he had been through.

“She seemed normal when I first met her,” he said quietly as he looked to the window, seeing the summer sky and the treetops green under the light of the sun that reminded him how he had missed the spring and the turn of the seasons because of the coma, “I liked her, I wanted to get to know her better. I tried to kiss her once when we were out in the car, but she just pushed me away, and I'm glad she did. Now I think about it, I feel sick to think I was spending time with a serial killer... No one expects to ever meet a murderer, Kelly...” he gave a shy, nervous laugh as he glanced at her, “Except you and Jack, you have to expect to meet them and arrest them, you'd be crap at your job if you didn't! But people like me, people who only ever hear about this kind of stuff on the news – we don't expect it. Meeting a killer is the last thing you ever think will happen. I still wonder, why me?”

That was a question she had heard many victims who had survived killers say to her. And she gave him the same answer she had given them whilst handling far too many terrible cases over the years.

“Just be glad you're alive and still here and able to ask that question,” she told him, “As for why she chose you, it was just bad luck, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time and she saw you and decided to make you her target. There's nothing you could have done to alter that, because she was crazy and like a lot of dangerous people out there, she didn't look like the killer that she was. A lot of these psychos are very good at hiding it.”

“I always thought there was something off about her, but I put that down to her mother dying. I thought she was just lonely and grieving.”

Kelly shook her head.

“No, she had an obsession with the idea of killing someone close to her and she believed their soul would transfer into the doll she had made – her mother was the exception, that one didn't follow the same pattern as the others. Melanie killed to keep people close to her – in her twisted imagination, she thought that would be the way to keep their ghosts inside the dolls. But she had a different motive for her mother's death. Her mother had been concerned about her odd behaviour for a long time and tried to control her, but Melanie was hard to live with. That story she told you about her mother's depression was a lie. Her mother was stressed out because she knew her daughter was crazy and Melanie wouldn't accept help for it. In the end, she threatened to force psychiatric care on to her. Melanie flipped and poisoned her mother's tea with sedatives and slit her wrists while she slept. She said in her statement that the mother doll _Mor_ used to criticise her, she believed her mother was alive in the doll and angry at her for killing her living body. And she kept that doll while she went on her killing spree, she kept it for a long time. When she asked you to help her burn it, she believed you were assisting the second murder of her mother. That's how she saw it.”

Dukken shook his head as his pale face grew sightly paler at the thought of it.

“That's crazy!”

“She is crazy,” Kelly reminded him, “And everything she did to you was entirely orchestrated by her. It's nothing to do with you not seeing it coming or making a bad choice, or not seeing through her act – she had killed several people by the time she found you. And if you hadn't been found on the floor in her kitchen, those cases never would have been solved and you wouldn't be here today, so never think any of it was your fault. You were lucky to survive...”

She paused, then shook her head.

“Sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I guess you don't feel lucky right now.”

“ _But I do.”_

She looked at him in surprise. He looked back at her with a gaze reflecting absolute truth.

“I do, Kelly. I feel really glad to still be here! You didn't say the wrong thing, you don't have to apologise – I'm glad to be alive.”

She managed a brief smile.

“I'm glad to hear that. It's just that some of us don't feel that way when something terrible happens, I guess it depends _what_ you've been through.”

He looked right into her eyes, his hazel gaze meeting her deep brown shade of autumn leaves as he asked her a question:

“What happened to you, Kelly?”

“When?” she asked with a nervous smile, “I work on homicide, I see terrible stuff frequently.”

He was still looking at her intently.

“Not the frequent stuff. Did something else happen to you, something that was so bad you can't feel glad it's over?”

She gave a sigh. Now was _not_ the time to talk about it...

“Some situations, for various reasons, might never be over,” she replied, “For you, Melanie's arrest ended the threat. There are other kinds of threats, not to you - to me, they linger, maybe only in my mind, maybe not...” she swiftly changed the subject, “Let's not talk about that now. I'll come and pick you up as soon as you're ready to leave tomorrow, just call me,” she said with a smile.

He smiled too.

“I'll do that. I can't wait to get out of this place!”

Next day, Kelly was up by seven am. By eight she was showered and dressed and had already finished breakfast. She had her phone on the table in the kitchen as she kept glancing at it, wanting Dukken to call. She was ready to pick him up and all she wanted to do was get him out of the hospital and back here, to start some kind of normal life again. She had stayed with him for two hours the day before, he had told her he was mostly recovered now, he had been very weak after the coma but now he was back on his feet, he wanted to start walking longer distances. He had said he wanted to take some of his old routes, even passing by the field where he had burned the doll, because he didn't want memories of the past to stop him visiting his favourite spots. He felt connected to nature and didn't want all that had happened to take that away, not when he often used inspiration from nature for his art works. She had offered to drive him, and he had laughed nervously and said last time he was in a car on that road he had been with Melanie. But then he had added, he felt much safer knowing this time, he would be with a cop. She glanced at the time, then wondered if she ought to call him at the hospital and ask if he was ready to leave.

Then her phone rang and she snatched it up, surprised at how happy she was just to think that Dukken was on the other end of the line – but it wasn't Dukken, it was her boss.

_There was good and bad news._

The good news was, the charges had been dropped because it was the prisoner's word against hers. And Jack was back at work next week.

The bad news for Kelly was, she wouldn't be returning to work for six weeks, because it was felt that she needed to take some time to rest, for her health and for her emotional well being. Kelly had forced a smile and said, “Thank you, Captain, I think you're probably right, I need some rest, the matter of the allegations have been stressful.”

Then she had ended the call, cursing under her breath. She was no longer suspended, she would get paid, but she was still stuck at home for six weeks...

_Six weeks with Dukken._

Oh, there _was_ a silver lining to this situation after all...

She didn't need to call Jack about the work matter. He called her, after giving the Captain's call half an hour to sink in. She sat at the kitchen table as she answered the phone, glad to hear from Jack but again wondering why Dukken had not yet called her yet.

“Sis!” Jack said, using the nickname he sometimes fondly called her, “We're in luck, the shit didn't hit the fan, but the downside is -”

“I know, I have to take six weeks off, I think our boss knows I did it, Jack.”

“Sandra may suspect, but she also understands the ton of shit you've been through!” he reminded her, “And maybe she's right, maybe a few weeks off will be good for you, no stress, taking it easy... which isn't the case for me. While you're away I have to work with Fiona Watson, the worst person in the department!”

“She's a bitch to everyone, she looks down on people and she judges them and she's nasty, but that's just how she is. We all have to suffer Fiona eventually,” she reminded him.

“But remember, I dated her way back before I met my wife,” Jack added, “She's hated me for years because I broke it off with her. Remember how she was always bitching at you when you became my partner? We had just started working together, and she accused us of having an affair even though we were both happily married at the time!”

“Maybe she still likes you deep down,” Kelly said.

“Not since I called her an old witch!” he reminded her, and Kelly laughed.

“I remember that! Oh my god, she was so spiteful to you, the names she called you! Yes, I recall the Watson vs Astor showdown by the hot beverage dispenser in the hallway... And you didn't just call her an old witch, Jack! To be specific, you called her a _lonely, desperate, bitter, cock juggling, cum gargling old witch._ ”

“I've just remembered, she's the same age as us. Maybe I shouldn't have said _old_ , do you think that part was too much?”

Kelly laughed again.

“I'm really sorry you got Fiona. But I guess someone had to draw the short straw!”

“I can't wait for you to come back to work.”

“I'm counting the days too!” she agreed.

Then she heard the doorbell ring.

“I've got to go, someone's at the door, I'll call you later,” she said, and she ended the call and left the phone on the table, then got up and made her way out of the kitchen and down the hallway as the doorbell rang again.

When Kelly opened the door, the caller certainly was a surprise. He stood there dressed all in black with his hooded top turned down and smiled.

“Hi Kelly,” said Dukken.

She was still feeling surprised as she stepped back and he came in and she closed the door behind him.

“I thought I was driving you here?”

“I had just enough money on me to get a taxi,” he told her, “I didn't want to bother you for a ride, you're doing enough for me already.”

“And it's no trouble,” she reminded him.

“I know that, but I wanted to do this myself, I'm a lot better now, I still feel tired, I think will for a long time, but I'm well enough to get here by myself. And I thought it would be a nice surprise, so you didn't have to drive over to pick me up.”

She smiled fondly at him.

“You've lost your job and your home and you just used the last of your money to get a taxi to save me the trouble of driving?”

“Yes,” he said, and laughed softly, then he looked about the hallway, “Where's my room? I want to get my stuff unpacked.”

“This way,” she told him, and she led him down the hallway as she paused to give him a brief tour of the place, front room, kitchen, bathroom, and finally, two bedrooms. She opened the door across the hall from her own and as it swung open he looked inside, then back at Kelly.

“It's a nice room – this is a nice place, a lot better than my old one!”

“I guessed it would be,” Kelly replied, “And it's a big room, all the rooms are a good size here. I think you'll be comfortable.”

Dukken went into the bedroom and looked around, the walls were pale and the curtains were dark red and matched the covers on the double bed. The floor was carpeted and the furniture was solid pine.

“It's really nice in here,” he said again, then he went over to the boxes in the corner and briefly glanced inside, then he looked back at Kelly.

“I'll need to unpack my clothes.”

“It's already done, I put everything away for you. Your landlord had put your stuff in an old garage and it was damp, so I washed everything and then I put it away.”

“Thanks” he said, sounding surprised, “You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate it.”

Then he went over to the bed and took a bag from his pocket and placed two bottles of pills on the bedside table.

“I'm only on two meds now,” he told her, “I take one if I get flashbacks, and the other one is for pain, my scar still hurts sometimes, apparently it's not settled down yet, what ever that's supposed to mean. But they are big scars.”

“I know what you mean,” she replied, “Scars can hurt for a long time. The first winter after you have them, you feel the cold so much more, right inside, it goes deep.”

He looked at her in surprise.

“I didn't know you had scars.”

She pulled back from offering an explanation.

“Want some coffee?”

“Yes please,” he said with a smile, and she left the room, leaving Dukken to sort through his boxes and settle in to his new bedroom.

Later that evening the phone rang while Kelly was preparing dinner.

“Hello Kel!” Laura said brightly, “Jack's calling you later... right now he's out in the garden with the boys, they've got their swords out and they're fighting him for the pirate treasure chest, then he's helping Suzy with her homework and I'm about to help Zoey with her school project, I've just fed the baby and put him down for a nap while I start dinner. It never stops in here, I'm so tired but I love it!”

As she heard her laugh, Kelly smiled. Laura was a little younger than her husband, she was slim despite having five kids, and she had long blonde hair and bright green eyes, and she was just as fond of her as Jack was. They both treated her like family.

“Sounds like you're all having another fun day together.”

“It's always fun if you don't mind being tired and falling into bed by nine thirty every night!” she exclaimed, “Anyway, how's Dukken settling in, Jack said he was moving in today?”

“I checked on him an hour ago, he was sleeping,” Kelly replied, “He showed up here this morning, he got a taxi! I told him I'd give him a ride home but he said I'd already done enough to help.”

“He sounds like a nice guy.”

“He is,” she agreed, feeling warm in her heart as she thought of Dukken, lying on top of the covers fully dressed and sleeping on his side as the fading sunlight streamed in through the windows.

Then in the background she heard the baby cry on the monitor.

“Oh no, Jack Junior's awake again, I have to go!”

“Okay Laura, speak soon,” she said, then she ended the call and went back over to the kitchen counter where she drew out a large knife and started to chop the salad.

Dukken walked into the kitchen, blinked away sleep and looked over at Kelly as she stood with her back to him.

“I didn't mean to sleep so long in the daytime – I managed to sort out my art stuff, though... I've got a few paintings and my oil paints in the corner and I've got my sketches on the table – it might look a bit scattered but that's how I work...”

He stopped, staring as she turned with the knife in her hand.

“Dukken?” she said.

He was still staring, then he took in a ragged breath as in his mind, Melanie's face was a twisted mask of hatred as she lunged and stabbed him twice. He stepped back, bumping against the fridge, then his hand flew to his t shirt as he looked down, half expecting to see blood running from his body.

“Dukken?” Kelly said again, then she looked at him and the knife in her hand and she put it down on the chopping board at once and pushed the board aside.

“Oh no! I'm so sorry... I was making some salad to go with the chicken... Dukken, it's okay, you're safe!”

He just stood there, pale and shaken up as she rushed over to him and didn't hesitate to hug him. They didn't know each other well yet, but he was shaking in her arms and needed reassurance.

“Its okay, you're safe,” she reminded him, and then as she let go he blinked away tears. His voice trembled as he spoke.

“Sorry, I feel so stupid... you're not Melanie, what the fuck is wrong with me...Am I going crazy?”

“Nothing is wrong with you,” she told him honestly, “You saw the knife and remembered. Anyone would feel that way in your situation. I didn't think, I wasn't thinking about triggers, I've just been talking on the phone and then I was getting dinner ready. Sorry!”

He breathed a relieved sigh as the flashback faded out and the shaking eased off, along with his racing heartbeat.

“It's not your fault,” he told her, “Maybe I should go through to the front room and sit down for a while. I'm okay, please don't feel bad about this.”

“But I do,” she said honestly.

“No, don't feel bad, I'm fine,” Dukken replied quietly, and then he turned away and walked off, heading for the front room.

“No you're not, you're _not_ fine!” she muttered, feeling deeply concerned for Dukken, then she abandoned the dinner and hurried off to join him.

Dukken had looked at the table set for dinner, then gone over to the other side of the large room, past the comfortable couch and armchairs and lingered by the window where pictures sat on a table in frames. He picked up a photograph and looked at it, his gaze lingering on it as Kelly entered the room. She was about to ask if he was okay but as she joined him, he showed her the famed picture.

“Is this you?” he asked.

Kelly smiled fondly, it was a picture of her and Jack at his birthday party. That had been taken a couple of years ago, before she was sick.

“Yes, that was me two years ago,” she told him.

He looked at the picture again, then placed it back on the table.

“You look so different there... Your hair was nice... I don't mean it's not nice now, I just mean you look different now. Still nice though,” he laughed nervously, hoping she had understood he meant no offence.

As she looked at him, suddenly it was easy to say it.

“That was me before I had breast cancer,” she told him, “I lost a breast and I had chemotherapy and I lost my hair – well, it started falling out so Jack cut it off for me, then he made me laugh because he put on my wig and started messing around and then Laura was laughing and I was laughing, I don't know what I'd do without them. They're like family to me. Jack's Detective Astor, my work partner, but he's more like a brother. You'll meet him soon, I'm sure he will stop by. He's back at work now because the allegations were dropped, but I've been told to stay home for six weeks and take it easy. So I'm out of trouble, but I have to wait to go back to work.”

Dukken was looking at her intently.

“Wow, I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd been sick. You don't look sick, and you don't look like you've lost a... Not that I was looking, I just mean -”

“It's okay, no need to be awkward,” she said with a smile, “I get it, I look okay. Thanks, it's good to hear that.”

“And it's good news that you can go back to work in six weeks. I'm glad you didn't lose your job.”

“I'm glad too...”

She paused, now remembering it wasn't all about her any more. She had just walked in here because he had suffered a flashback at the sight of that knife.

“Do you often get triggered, about Melanie's attack? I need to know, so I can avoid scaring you again.”

“I don't know,” Dukken replied, “Until today it was just the bad dreams sometimes, but I've been in the hospital since the attack, and I didn't know seeing a knife would do that to me.”

“Did you have any therapy for what happened?” she asked him.

“I've talked about it, but it just made the nightmares worse.”

She nodded, fully understanding his situation.

“I had counselling when I was diagnosed. It didn't change a thing for me, I think some of us just need to find our own way through the worst.”

“You're probably right about that,” he agreed.

For a moment their eyes met and neither spoke a word, then as she reminded herself there was no point hoping to get closer, she turned away.

“I'll finish dinner,” she told him, and then she went back to the kitchen to finish preparing the food.

They had dinner a short while later. Dukken talked to her about his art works, he had an idea that he was working on but said he wasn't quite there yet, that something was missing. Then he said it could take him a while to get back into it, because he still felt out of place in the world. Kelly made coffee and brought it back to the table, and as they sat there in the warm glow of the lamp light as the sun sank towards dusk, she looked across the table at him thoughtfully, because something he had just said had reminded her of something she had also thought about.

“This is going to sound weird,” she said as she laughed and shook her head, “You can say it's weird if you think it is, I won't be offended.”

Dukken smiled.

“Everyone always thought I was weird, right from school to when I was at college, to when I got a job. I was always the outsider. I'm a goth...I usually wear black make up around my eyes... I need to get some more eyeliner. I don't quite feel like me right now, and I definitely don't feel like my old self, especially when I think about what happened to me, with Melanie.”

What he had just said made her feel able to explain further.

“Then maybe this won't sound so weird after all,” she said, “When I was diagnosed with the cancer, my first thought was, I'm going to die...”

She paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath. She never talked about these things, but Dukken was sitting there patiently listening, and he made it bearable.

“And then, I didn't die. I had the surgery and survived it. The pain was bad afterwards but I got through it. The chemo was rough but I got through that too, then I was told I was cured, and I took a few months to rest and recover and I went back to work. And once I was back there...” she paused, shaking her head as she hoped it wouldn't sound as crazy as it seemed to her, “I started to look around at everyone else and wonder if I wasn't really there, as if I maybe I did die at some point and not realised and I'm a ghost walking around, who everyone else can see – as if I don't exist any more, but I'm the only one who knows that.”

Dukken reached across the table, and his hand was soft and warm in her grip as he gave it a gentle squeeze.

“It doesn't sound weird, Kelly. I've had the same kind of feelings about me, about not being real – I was made to feel invisible when I was at school, people kept away from me because I was different. Then I went to college and I was so used to being alone, I stayed that way. My parents died in an accident while I was away at college, and that was when I realised I had no one there for me anywhere, no one close any more. So I already felt like I was on the outside. But when Melanie stabbed me, after I woke up, when I heard about what I'd been through, I started to feel as if maybe everyone had got it wrong and I'd actually died in that kitchen in a pool of my own blood. But I know I didn't. I'm still here, and so are you. I think when something bad happens, when we think its all over and things get better, we still carry a bit of the bad stuff with us, and it makes us feel like ghosts, but we're not, we're alive. I'm still here, so are you, and we both made it.”

She started to smile as he looked into her eyes. His hand was still linked with hers across the table.

“You're the only person I've spoken to about this,” she confessed, “I can talk to Jack about anything, but I didn't think he would understand the part about me feeling as if I'm dead. I think that would worry him and I didn't want to worry my best friend.”

“I think you have to live through something terrible to understand that feeling, wondering if you really made it or not,” he agreed, “And I do get it, Kelly. I understand it too. But I know I'm alive and you're definitely alive with me, sitting here at this table!”

He gave her hand another squeeze as he smiled and she did too. Then he let go of her as she felt the absence of his touch sharply.

“And I meant what I said earlier,” he added, “You're still pretty. And no one can see what you've been through. Looking at you, no one would know, same as me. I have some horrible scars.... “ he paused, thinking about the deep surgical incisions that were forever carved into his flesh, much bigger than the two stab wounds inflicted by Melanie, from the two surgeries he had gone through to save his life, “I don't remember anything after I passed out in that kitchen. All I remember is waking up and being told Melanie was locked up and I was safe, then I was told that I'd almost died... but that part is a blank. I don't remember anything after the stabbing. I've got a big scar that runs all the way down my body, like this,” he got up, pushing the chair back, and ran a finger over the fabric of his t shirt in a vertical line, starting from the bottom of his breastbone, all the way down to the waist band of his jeans, and then he stopped, shyly glancing at her, “It goes a bit further down, all the way to my groin... I hate it, I look in the mirror and I think it looks more like the kind of scar a corpse would have in a morgue after an autopsy. I don't like looking at it.”

Those words had given her a sharp jolt.

Of course he hated to look at it, she felt the same way about the scar on her chest where her breast used to be... And she understood exactly what he had meant about his own scar – she had seen enough corpses post mortem to know what autopsy scars looked like.

“I know my scars are there for life,” he added, “So I can never really forget what happened, no matter how hard I try. Twenty years from now, I'll still be reminded of what she did every time I look in the bathroom mirror after a shower.”

As she got up from the table, she looked away as she started to clear away the coffee cups.

“ _I don't even know if I'll be here twenty years from now,”_ she said quietly, and as she turned to leave the room, he stared at her.

“Don't talk like that, Kelly! Right now, you're okay. And you could still be okay twenty years from now – or longer! You might be okay for the rest of your life. And even if you're not, there's new treatments coming along all the time, you don't have to think the worst.”

“But you're not in my situation, Dukken,” she reminded him, “The fear never goes away.”

Then she left the room as Dukken stood there, desperately hoping he had not hurt her by all he had said. He hadn't realised she was still afraid of dying, even though she had been cured. He hadn't thought about the fact that she was afraid of the cancer returning. He dashed out of the room, pressing a hand to his body as the sudden movement tugged on the scar that still felt too tight.

“ _Did I upset you just now?”_

Dukken sounded worried as he entered the kitchen. She turned away from the sink and met his gaze, still trying to fight off the fear that had stirred up thanks to their conversation, it was shifting about, feeling much like wading into still waters that ran too deep and dark.

“No, you didn't upset me. _I_ upset me, I always get worked up thinking about the future.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Don't be,” she said quietly.

He took a step closer, and she was aware of his closeness as well as the kindness that shone in his gaze as he spoke again.

“Please don't worry,” he told her, “You beat this thing, Kelly. You probably won't get sick again. Maybe you stand no more chance of getting sick than anyone else does. There's probably more chance of Melanie Crow escaping and coming after me like something out of slasher movie!” he laughed, shaking off the chill that had run down his back as his dark humour had come to the fore, rattling his cage internally as just for a moment, he wondered if there _was_ a risk that would ever happen. But he was still smiling as he looked into Kelly's eyes.

“Now that,” he said, “Would make a great slasher movie! Return of the Dollmaker! All about the cop who saves the victim from the psycho killer... the brave and beautiful cop who has known him twenty years. Maybe as this is a movie, your character and mine are in love. Maybe they're married, too. And most definitely, fictional Kelly is _not_ sick. Her cancer doesn't come back, but when Melanie does, she kicks her ass and saves Dukken.”

As amusement danced in his gaze, she started to laugh.

“But I'm not fictional. I'm the real Kelly, and you're real too, Dukken.”

“Exactly,” he agreed, “Keep remembering that. We're both still here for a reason. I don't think either of us survived for nothing. I like to think we both have a future.”

His words had blasted her fears to the furthest corners of her mind.

“So do I,” she agreed.

For a moment he stood there as their gaze locked and he smiled at her and she smiled back and neither said a word. Then he stepped closer, looking down at the carpet as he shyly said goodnight, and as he met her gaze again he thought about kissing her, but didn't. He hadn't known her long at all, but everything about Kelly just felt right.

“Goodnight, Kelly,” he said.

She watched as he walked away, heading for his bedroom.

“Goodnight, Dukken,” she replied, hoping he had heard her, and then she turned back to the sink and the dishes that needed washing up before bed as she tried and failed not to think about how deeply she was drawn to Dukken, how warm he made her feel in what had been a cold and scared heart, and how quickly he had laid her demons to rest with his dark sense of humour. She had now decided, yes, she was attracted to him, and that was perfectly fine. As long as she didn't let him know about it, because she felt sure there was no chance of him ever feeling the same way about her.

And while she was thinking that, Dukken had gone off to bed, and he was laying in bed in his room, with the light off as tiredness swept over him heavily yet again, and as he gave a sigh and started to drift, he thought about how he had almost kissed Kelly tonight.

_Almost..._

That thought made him smile as he drifted off to sleep, as Kelly stood in the kitchen washing dishes, completely unaware that actually, Dukken was attracted to her, too...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next few days went by quietly.

A feeling of something close to peace of mind had settled both for Dukken and for Kelly. He was still sleeping a lot, tiring easily, but after three days at her place, he had insisted on going out for a long walk. She had offered to go with him, and he had welcomed her suggestion. They started off in town, she took him to her favourite cafe and they sat there talking about life in general and then Dukken had said he needed to start looking for another job. Kelly had looked at him doubtfully. He was still tired, still recovering. And as for the depth of the emotional scars, she knew that went far deeper as far as damage was concerned, than any of the scars left on his body. He needed time. She had told him to wait, to give himself a few months before he tried to put his old life back together. Then he had asked her how she was coping with her life now she was recovered, and she had spoken honestly without flinching as she had told him she didn't think her life could ever be the same again. She could certainly never think the shadow of cancer wouldn't fall on her life a second time, that was a constant fear. And he listened patiently.

He let her talk about everything, from the divorce to the illness to how she felt about life now she was forty years old and single and minus a breast.

“I think you're pretty,” he had said with a smile, “I mean it, Kelly. You don't see what others see, your life isn't over.”

She had smiled sadly as she shook her head.

“I know you're only saying that to be kind, Dukken. I'm fifteen years older than you. And you're staying at my place, so maybe you feel you should be extra kind, and the flattery is nice but you don't have to do that.”

“I'm being honest!”

That had surprised her, then she realised, it shouldn't have come as a surprise. He was an honest guy – maybe to her, at the cynical age of forty after all she had been through, she had expected no less than flattery for the sake of it, just because she was helping him out. But no, it _wasn't_ like that. Dukken was the kind of guy to speak openly from his heart...

_And that meant obviously, he meant every word he said._

It had taken time for her to let that sink in.

Almost two hours passed by before they left the cafe, after Dukken had turned the conversation towards his passion for nature and art. Then they had walked around the stores, gone window shopping and stopped off on the way home and bought ice cream. They had spent a whole afternoon out together and simply enjoyed each other's company.

And now she knew that despite the odds being against her as she still saw it, he actually _did_ like something about her. Maybe it was her personality, she thought. _We're friends, and friends can compliment each other._

But still she held on to a hope that made her feel ridiculous:

_Surely, he didn't want her romantically?_

_Forty year old damaged goods Kelly?_

They had gone home later and Kelly had started to cook dinner while Dukken grabbed a shower. That night she planned to talk to him about those possibilities she clung to, but not directly, just touching at the edges of her hopes as she tried to find out exactly what he did think of her...

But it came to nothing, because when he didn't answer her after she called out that dinner was ready, she had gone to his room and found him on top of the covers, sleeping deeply. He was wearing a bathrobe and it was tied up securely, hiding the scars he didn't want to expose to her, or to himself. She had left him to sleep, because it had been a tiring day. It was the furthest he had walked since leaving the hospital.

Two days later, he had gone out alone, taking a bus to revisit the quiet suburbs and the roads that would take him close to the place where he had once gone for a drive with Melanie. Kelly had called him twice that day, and each time he answered, he had sounded fine. He had told her it was a beautiful day to catch some pictures, birds in the sky, the landscape under the summer sun. But he had not gone back to the place where the doll had been burned. She was glad about that. She wanted him to leave the past alone, because he was free to do so, he didn't have to worry about the threat to his life re-emerging, Melanie Crow was locked away now...

Dukken had been at the apartment just over a week when Jack stopped by on his way home from work. Dukken had smiled and said Hi, and then quietly watched, feeling shy at first, as Jack had called his best friend Sis and hugged her then sat down and related the tale of how awful it was to work with Fiona, a detective who clearly had no redeeming features and was thoroughly disliked.

“It's a daily ordeal!” Jack said as he sat on the sofa beside Kelly and paused to sip his coffee, “We're on a case where a woman was strangled in her apartment. Fiona's first words: _She probably took a stranger home, she looks the type, what else did she expect?_ And then we're out looking for the guy who turns out to be the on and off boyfriend of the deceased, he's stolen her jewellery and he's selling it and we've got a positive ID on the guy, he's tried to use her bank cards, we know he did it but we just have to track him down...but he's hard to catch. So we stopped off near a bar where he often drinks and I'm planning to ask some questions, then as we're about to go in, I see a homeless guy sitting nearby. So I asked him about the suspect, he's not seen him. But I gave him some money anyway, to help him out,” he paused, looking from Dukken to Kelly, “Can you guess how Fiona reacted?”

“No,” Dukken replied as he shook his head, then Kelly gave a groan.

“I can just imagine what she said...”

“She said, _If he got off his ass and got a job he wouldn't be homeless, he's just lazy!_ ” he gave a sigh, “I can not stand Fiona. Her attitude, that look she gives me when I walk into work, everything about her, ugh! I just want you back as soon as possible, Kelly!”

“It must be tough, no one wants to work with Fiona,” Kelly agreed.

Jack's eyes lit up playfully.

“What's your honest opinion, Sis? Do you think my years of experience as a cop would make me less likely to get caught for homicide? Because I'm seriously thinking about it!”

Kelly laughed and so did Jack, then Jack looked over at Dukken as he sat there on the armchair.

“Sorry, I had to complain about work! Anyway, how are you settling in?”

“Fine thanks,” Dukken replied.

“And how are you coping,” Jack asked, and now he wasn't in the mood to crack jokes, “After leaving the hospital? I know it can be tough sometimes for survivors of violent crimes.”

“I'm coping,” he said with a smile, deciding to say no more about it. He hoped Kelly wouldn't mention the knife and how it had triggered a flashback, and thankfully, she didn't.

Dukken stayed quiet as Kelly and Jack laughed as he told his funny stories about colleagues at work and brought her up to speed on all she had missed out on. Jack was funny, he actually made working for the homicide department sound like fun. And he was clearly very fond of Kelly, but it was obvious they had brother-sister kind of bond, and that came as a huge relief to Dukken. It surprised him just how relieved he felt to realise that, because he was very sure how much he liked Kelly, but maybe it was going deeper now – he knew he felt a flicker of something in his heart for her. He had been living here just over a week now and they had spent every day together, when he wasn't wasting hours in the daytime sleeping. He didn't know if it was because she had been there when he had woken from a vivid nightmare, that first time he had laid eyes on her, or maybe it was because she was a cop, and she made him feel safe. Or perhaps it was her voice or her smile, or the way her eyes sparkled when she smiled.

He knew he was definitely crushing now, and that crush was sliding into something deeper, and it didn't matter that she was older, she was pretty and she was brave – although he felt sure she would deny that, probably deny she was pretty, too, because she was modest. There wasn't a bad thing he could think of about Kelly... He had instantly liked her and it seemed this time, he could trust his instincts. Now he just hoped he could follow them, too...

Jack stayed for three hours. By the time he was ready to leave, Dukken had got to know him. He was a nice guy, he had made him laugh too, and he knew in Jack, Kelly had a dependable friend and colleague who would never let her down. He was a devoted husband and father as well as very skilled detective, too. Dukken had heard enough about Fiona to understand why Jack wanted Kelly to hurry up and return to work, and why she was desperate to get back to it, too. Dukken had never had a close friendship with anyone, not the way Jack and Kelly were close. But he didn't envy them for it, he was just thankful that two nice people had been lucky enough to find each other and form a bond of friendship.

Later on that evening after dinner, Kelly had said she felt tired and might have an early night, then she started to clear the table.

“I'll do it for you,” Dukken offered.

“You don't have to, really,” she said with a smile.

“I want to,” he insisted, “Let me help out, at least let me do that until I get a job and then I can start paying you for putting up with me.”

“Okay,” she said reluctantly, “But you don't have to do anything else tonight – just the dishes. You're supposed to be resting.”

“Resting bores me, I can only spend so much time stuck in my own head with too many thoughts,” he told her, “I need to keep busy.”

“But not too busy,” she reminded him.

Their eyes met, and both gazes reflected fondness, then he cleared the table and went into the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Next morning, Kelly woke late.

She had been slightly worried to find Dukken was gone – until she found the note he had left for her on the kitchen table, it was placed on top of a pile of her clothing that she had left in the washing machine, but now it was dried and neatly folded. She read the note:

 _Kelly_ , Dukken had written in flowing handwriting, _I got a call today from my old boss at the music store. He said the guy who took over from me has been off sick for almost a week and he really needed some help today, and he said if I was interested in a days work he would pay me cash. I told him I'd do it because I think it might lead to more work, so I'll be back tonight. I'm okay, don't worry about me – Dukken._

_P.S. I washed the dishes last night then I noticed you had some laundry that needed to go in the dryer, so I got that done for you and I left your clothes folded on the table. It's only right I did that, as you did my laundry. I'll be back around six!_

Kelly smiled as she looked again at the note, then she lifted the neat pile of clean laundry for the table and took it through to her bedroom.

_The hours went by slowly._

_She was missing him, and she knew it._

She wanted to call him but he was working, so she didn't call.

It was just after six pm when he returned, and rang the door bell because she had not yet got around to having a spare key cut for him. As soon as that door bell rang she was smiling, feeling relieved that he was home, and glad that he had been able to have a piece of his old life back too, even if it was only temporary...

As she opened the door he stood there, dressed in black and with eyeliner dark and slightly smudged around his eyes. He looked tired, but happy. It was also the first time she had seen him with his make up, too. He was fully rocking the goth look now.

“It was good to be back there – even if it was just for a day, and I got paid,” he told her, still standing on the doorstep even though she had just opened the door and stepped back to let him inside.

“I bet you're glad to have some money at last,” she added with a smile.

He hesitated, looked away and then shyly met her gaze.

“I spent most of it, ” Dukken admitted.

He reached down just beside the doorway and drew up a bouquet of flowers.

_Not just any bouquet._

Pale lilac roses and off black orchids speckled with gold, mixed in with other exotic flowers she couldn't name with velvet black and brown petals, wrapped in black paper and tied with a black bow. He handed them to her as his pale face flushed slightly.

“I got these for you, to say thank you.”

He came in and closed the door behind him.

Kelly was still looking down at the bouquet.

“This is very lovely and very expensive!” she exclaimed, “You didn't have to do this for me, Dukken!”

He gave a shrug.

“I happen to think it was worth it – you're worth it, you deserve this.”

“Why?” she asked, still smiling as she held the flowers and looked at him fondly.

“Because you're kind, and I like you,” he said honestly, “I like you a lot.”

His gaze lingered on hers. She felt joyful and awkward and a huge rush of fondness and certainly something deeper was hitting her hard now as she smiled at him and he leaned in a little closer. She closed her eyes, catching her breath as he slipped an arm around her waist, then as he pulled her in and their bodies touched, she slid her hands up his dark hooded top as he placed a gentle hand at the back of her neck, pulling her toward him as their lips touched. It was the softest of kisses, and it set her alight in every way. She kissed him again, his lips parted as hers did and his tongue was in her mouth as they shared a full on, passionate kiss.

And she broke it off, quickly.

“No, we can't,” she said, looking at him sadly, “We can't do this, Dukken!”

Hurt registered in his gaze.

“Why not? I thought you liked me!”

“I do,” she said as her body ached with longing and her heart ached at the thought that this could never be, “But you need to think about this. I'm older than you, and you're staying here and feel grateful to me - and you're a sweet guy, a lovely guy - but I'm too old for you and there's no point anyway. Why would you want to be with a forty year old woman with a missing breast? The cancer could come back and I could die on you! I'm sure you can find someone with better odds than I have!”

“I don't care about the odds!” he told her firmly, “You don't know that you'll get sick again, that might never happen! And I don't care about the age gap, I date who I want to date, age difference doesn't matter! And you're _not_ the only one who feels freaked out about scars! You should see mine, Kelly. I know you lost a breast, but at least you don't look as if someone mistook you for a corpse and sliced you open for an autopsy! I hate looking at my body! But I'm not going to care about your scar when I hold you, I just want to hold you!” then he paused, as a flicker of insecurity came to his gaze, “I hope you wouldn't stare at me if you saw my scars. That has crossed my mind, that you might stare.”  
“I wouldn't stare,” she said quietly.

He gave a heavy sigh.

“I want you to know I kissed you for the right reasons. Not because I'm staying here, or because I thought you might want a one night stand, I actually _like_ you a lot!”

Kelly looked down at the flowers that had dropped to the floor as they had shared a kiss that she couldn't wipe from her mind.

“I'd better put these in water,” she said, then she picked up the flowers and went off down the hallway as Dukken stood there, watching as she walked away. Determination set in his gaze. He was going to try again, he knew she liked him, but she had been through a lot and she didn't think anyone could ever want her again. He was going to prove her wrong, he decided, because he felt sure Kelly was worth it...

Kelly had just left the kitchen, transferring the flowers to a vase and then going through to the front room where she placed the vase on the table, then as she turned away, she looked in surprise to see Dukken standing there by the sofa, just looking at her.

“There's nothing else to say,” she told him apologetically, “If I'd never been sick, maybe -”

She stopped right there. Dukken tilted his head slightly as he met her gaze and a smile came to his face. He looked to her, then to the couch, and he sat down and patted the seat beside him.

“Dukken, I can't...”

The look in his eyes said it all, _We both know that's not true, Kelly...._

“Come here,” he said softly, and she gave a sigh and then she walked over to the couch.

“I want to but...”

“ _I have an idea.”_

Dukken stood up, then he took off his hooded top and tossed it aside, now he was standing before her in a dark t shirt and jeans, and he paused for a moment, casting a glance downward as his hand briefly grazed the fabric of his shirt, as he thought about the scars beneath it. As he spoke again, he met her gaze.

“If this is the main thing holding us back, we should just get it over with. _Show me your scars, and I'll show you mine._ ”

As he stood there, she was taking in the sight of him and thinking about his firm body beneath that dark clothing, she was imagining running her hands over him, kissing him, tasting his sweat as the heat from their bodies rose and he buried deep inside her... Beneath her own clothing, she was achingly turned on, the need between her legs was growing, her clit was swollen and so were the slick folds of flesh within a slit smooth and exposed, bare with neat, short pubic hair above it. Her panties were damp. Her body was silently screaming for him and for release, she wanted him...

_And he wanted her._

_That was clear now._

_She didn't want to hold back but she felt awkward as she thought about the scar on her chest..._

“Dukken, I want to...but....”

He didn't need to hear any more. He got it, and he knew how to handle this.

“I'll go first,” he said quietly.

He stripped off his t shirt and dropped it to the carpet, standing there with his arms at his sides, just letting her look... She tried not to stare as her gaze wandered over his firm body. The largest scar was deep and ran from the bottom of his breastbone and went on, somewhere past the black skinny jeans that covered him from the hips down. There were two ragged wounds beside the huge incision, the stab wounds from the attack. There was another scar on the other side of the one that ran down his lower body, it was on an angle, and it was surgical and neat, and above it a smaller scar.

“If you think it's too gross I can put my t shirt back on,” he said quietly.

She was still taking in the sight of his body, not the scars now, but just him, as she ached to see all of him, and to touch and kiss and taste and have her body join with him as one...

“Do... do you want me to cover up?” he asked, sounding unsure.

She gave a small shake of her head, then as she stood there looking into his eyes, her hands reached to the buttons on her blouse. She opened them up and took it off, then she kept her gaze on Dukken as she opened up the catch in the front of her bra, it came apart and she took down the straps, cupping the left side to keep the padding in place as she took it off, turning away as she placed it on the armchair behind her, and then she turned back, her hand still covering the side of her chest where her breast was gone.

The look in his eyes didn't waver.

“It's okay,” he said softly, “Let me see. I want to see all of you.”

As he stepped closer, she waited until he was so close his hands were on her shoulders, then she drew her hand away from her chest. Dukken looked down at the scar as he cradled her breast in his hand, then he leaned closer and placed a kiss over the scar to her chest and as he raised his head and their eyes met, she blinked away tears. She had never known it could be like this, with anyone. She had never expected acceptance and still to be seen as a desirable woman – and if someone had told her that she would find a man like Dukken, she never would have believed it possible.

“You have a nice breast,” he assured her, pausing to cup it gently as he ran his thumb over her nipple.

She managed a smile, her nervousness was melting away quickly as he kept on stroking her nipple slowly.

“But it would have been better if I still had two of them,” Kelly said quietly, and Dukken's eyes registered surprise.

“I can't make that comparison, Kelly. _I never met the other one_.”

She stared at him. Then she saw sparkle in his eyes and she laughed. She had never expected this to happen, or to feel like laughing, but she was, and as she spoke again, she was still amused.

“You never met the _other_ one? That's true, all I have is a scar...” but she suddenly felt aware of that too sharply and looked away, and he pulled her closer as he spoke softly again.

“It's there because you survived. And when I lay beside you I can put my head on your scar and be close to your heart.”

Kelly was hit by the sudden realisation that she loved this man. And she didn't know if this was going to work out, but she wanted to hope for the best. She actually had something to hope for in life again...

“I'm so glad we met,” she whispered.

Dukken smiled.

“So am I,” he said fondly, and he pulled her closer and claimed her mouth with a passionate kiss.

As the sun dipped out of sight and the twilight began to descend soft and dark, the curtains were closed in the front room and the lamp light was glowing softly. Kelly's clothing was strewn about the room, her bra on the armchair, her blouse on the floor, the rest of her clothing in a messy heap with Dukken's. They were naked on the rug in the middle of the room, he was on his knees and she was kneeling in front of him with her arms around him as she looked into his eyes, breathing hard. He had been patiently stimulating her for more than twenty minutes.

“Open your legs wider,” he whispered.

As she obeyed, she gave a gasp as his finger tips brushed at her clit, then circled it, then he rubbed at her sex with his open hand as she gave a soft moan and her legs started to shake. His hand was slick with her juices, she was so swollen up down there she felt as if she might explode. Even after she had climaxed she knew the lips of her pussy wouldn't touch neatly closed for several hours, she was engorged, throbbing, on the edge of orgasm.

“You're close now,” he said softly, trying to ignore his own rock hard erection that was leaking with the ache for orgasm, watching as she closed her eyes, then intense pleasure registered on her face.

“ _Oh... god.. yes..._ ” she gasped.

He slid two fingers inside her, pushing them deep, then moved them in and out and withdrew them, taking wetness with him as his fingertip moved in a circular motion, oiling her swollen clit again before he started to toy with it, at first tapping sharply, then rubbing harder as her back arched and she pressed downward, as he pressed up, feeling every throb as she gave a cry of release. Then she clung to him as he kissed her and ran a hand over her hair.

“Was that good?”

“ _Yes!”_

She felt weak from orgasm as he helped her to lie back and then finally, he took his turn at release as he got on top and she lay there with her back against the soft carpet. He thrust into her in a fluid stroke, sliding into warm wetness where he pushed deeply, closing his eyes as he savoured the moment.

“ _Oh Kelly...”_ he panted, and then he started thrust carefully at first, in and out as his cock shone coated with her fluid.

She still felt as if every nerve in her body was alive, she had barely come down from that orgasm and every thrust made her gasp. Dukken's breathing quickened as he started to thrust harder, faster as his usually pale face flushed and sweat made his eyeliner run.

“ _Oh yes... I'm coming, Kelly... KELLY!”_

He trembled as he throbbed inside her, breathing hard against her shoulder, then he drew back, meeting her gaze with eyes still darkened by arousal.

“That was the best,” he said with a smile, and he kissed her again.

They were still on the floor together moments later, neither having plans to get up and take their new found closeness to the bedroom yet, because they were comfortable there, on the floor as they moved closer to the armchair behind them and leaned against it. Their bodies were warm and still damp with shared perspiration as he lay on his back and she lay on her side. Her head was resting on his shoulder as she looked up and met his gaze.

“I'm so glad I took a chance tonight. I've been longing for you and me, like this. I was too afraid to say so.”

“You're not holding back now, that's all that matters,” he said with a smile, and as he gazed into her eyes, he ran is fingers through her short, dark red hair.

“How come you didn't grow your hair again after the chemo? It was months ago, and I like it short, I really do – but I was just wondering why you didn't grow it longer.”

“Because if I do, I'll like it, and then I'll be sad if I get sick again and need to have it all cut off.”

He ran his fingers through her hair again.

“You should grow it longer if you want to. Don't stop doing what you want to do because of the cancer. It's gone now, it might never come back. And you look sexy whatever you decide to do, but I'm just saying, have it longer if you want to, because I want you to be happy.”

As she looked into his eyes she smiled. He was making her feel alive again, making her dare to live again and dare to be brave.

“I might do that,” she said, and he smiled too.

Then as his gaze wandered down their bodies as they lay close together, his expression changed as in the lamplight, he ran a finger up the long, deep scar in his body, then on to her chest as she lay there on her side, and he continued to trace the scarring. He looked down at her body and his, then all the way back up to her chest where his gaze fell intently on the scar where her breast used to be.

“Dukken, don't,” she said, feeling slightly uneasy, “Don't stare at my scar, please don't do that.”

“No, I'm not staring..” he murmured, and as she looked at him she watched as his gaze became intense, as he looked again at the position of their bodies.

“What are you looking at?” she said, and as he met her gaze, that intense expression was still in his eyes.

 _It was the first time she had seen that look and at the time, it had been unexpected. Later, she would come to understand it was a look that said inspiration and genius, too..._ As he explained, he still had that intense look in his eyes as he spoke a little faster:

“It's us!” he said to her excitedly, “The way we're laying together, it looks like my scar travels up my body...” he traced a fingertip from just above his groin all the way to his breastbone, then through shadow between them as he traced up to her chest, _“...And it joins with yours! Two scars, two ugly pathways carved into flesh, symbols of devastation that have healed and turned into a route made of flesh joined by togetherness and leading from me and then straight to your heart! Stay there, don't move!”_

“What?” Kelly said, feeling confused as Dukken got up and took the shade off the lamp, then he shifted it about, and finally, laid the lamp on its side so the bare bulb shone towards her, casting her in light and shadow as he perfected the angle.

“I need my camera for this...”

“What are you doing now?” she called to him, but he had hurried out of the room.

He returned quickly, switching on the camera and then sitting beside her, then shifting carefully so they were both in the same position as before.

“I need to take pictures of this, I need it for my art. I'm inspired...”

“You seriously want pictures of our scars?”

“Yes, I do!” he said, pausing to hold out the camera, taking shot after shot in quick succession from several angles. He paused to check the photos, then put his arm around her and they turned slightly closer together as he took more.

This was not how she had expected the afterglow of lovemaking to be, especially not when he told her to lie still so he could take some shots of her scar close up.

“You're taking mine after,” he told her, and so she let him do it, and when he had taken the final shot, he checked the pictures then handed her the camera.

“Just focus on my scar. Try and get all of it in, I need these shots, I plan to do a lot with them, images and paintings...”

He was naked on the floor and she wanted to cover him with kisses, but instead, she took the pictures of his scar, and then she put the camera on the table and as he got up, she looked at him in confusion.

“I don't see why you want your scars, mine, our scars together...How are you going to use it?”

As she asked that question, they were making their way to the bedroom, as the warm summer air came in through an open window, kissing their bare flesh.

“I needed images of your scar and then of mine, those will be separate works... The shots of us together, where it looks like our scars link into one, is the main piece. This is what I've been looking for, I just didn't realise it!”

They went into the bedroom and she turned on the light, then she laid down on the bed and he laid beside her, turned on his side and put his arm around her.

“I was thinking about the lines that make the shapes within the human body, but scars are artificial pathways, carved by force, like roads are carved into the earth... soil and land torn away, replaced by ugly roads...but roads can lead to beautiful places, just like our scars do.”

As she looked at him, Dukken's eyes were smudged with eyeliner that had run, and his gaze was shining with enthusiasm.

“I want to start using these shots to make some photographic pieces, and some I'll use to create paintings. I'll need to use your laptop to download the pictures, and I need to get them printed, some of them big sizes... but not until I've perfected the lighting, it just needs a little more shadow in places.”

“I'll help with that,” she assured him, “I don't mind, I know you believe in this.”

“I hope you believe in me,” he added, “I can do something with this Kelly, I really can!”

They shifted closer together as she rested her head on his chest, then lovingly ran a fingertip down his scar.

“If you say you can work with those pictures, that's good enough for me.”

He paused for thought.

“I never liked using my own images, I used to draw parts of me, and roads and landscapes, it was all linked... Melanie Crow wanted to sketch me once. I remember feeling uncomfortable, I didn't want her to do it, I had this uneasy feeling. She wouldn't let me see the picture, she tore it out of the sketch pad and threw it away, I don't know why. It's not like she felt insecure about showing me her work, she didn't even know I was an artist, I never told her that.”

“She was probably practising a face for your doll,” Kelly raised her head from his chest, “And that's over with now. Let's do something with these pictures.”

The mention of the pictures had banished all dark memories as Dukken smiled again.

“We will,” he promised her, “I really do think I can make something from this.”

She pulled him close, kissing him softly.

“I believe you can, and I'll help you with it,” she promised him, then they lay together, warm and close as the summer night air drifted in, and slept in a close embrace until dawn.

Next day, Dukken's old boss called again, asking if he could fill in for his absent employee for one more day. Dukken had enthusiastically agreed, and then he had gone to work, leaving the apartment at eight, and by nine am Kelly had made some phone calls after making a decision, and she left by nine thirty to drive across town, feeling far more excited than she had expected to feel, but she had made the appointment now, and she couldn't wait to see the result...

It had taken several hours.

But when the stylist had finished and she looked into the mirror as she sat there in the salon, Kelly smiled as she thought of Dukken, without his encouragement, she wouldn't have done it. But now she had hair extensions, and it looked real, it looked just like her old hair, it was dark red and fell to her shoulders. She ran her fingers through it as she looked at the mirror and saw reflected her old self, mixed in with the new, and felt much happier for it. In that moment she realised, she had still been healing on the inside. And now, she felt okay, at least, as okay as it was going to get – she didn't know about the future, but who did? No one could predict tomorrow. And she was living for now and all the things that made her life happier. She walked out of the salon very much aware that her new hair bounced and shifted as she moved just like her real hair used to, and she was smiling as she got into the car.

She drove back home and when she got there, she patiently waited for Dukken to return, knowing he would love her long hair as much as she did. And she wanted to thank him too, for encouraging her to do this. She wouldn't have done it without him. She also knew she wouldn't have found this new love in her life if she had not taken a chance...

She was making coffee just after three pm when she got a text message, it was from Dukken:

 _Just finished work, the store closes early today. I'm on my way home_ , and he had signed off with two kisses.

She wanted to reply, _Can't wait to see you, love you!_ But then she remembered, as much as he cared for her, he had not said that yet and maybe, she shouldn't expect it.

_Did he love her?_

_She hoped so._

_But maybe that was too much to expect..._

She had gone in deep, straight in and her heart was his and she didn't want to get it broken. Suddenly she was full of nagging doubts – maybe they wouldn't last, maybe he would get back on his feet, move out and move on. Perhaps all she could do was appreciate what they shared now, and not expect too much for the future. Then she started to worry, wondering if she had a future.

_There were plenty of younger women out there._

_Healthy young women who had a long life ahead of them._

_And Dukken was so easy to fall in love with._

By the time he arrived home, she was filled with doubts as she wondered if she was hoping for something that was beyond her reach...

As she opened the door, he looked at her in surprise.

“Wow, I love your hair! You look beautiful!” he said, and as she closed the door behind him, he added, “You looked beautiful before, I just mean your new hair is beautiful too.”

“Thanks” she said, and as she smiled, he saw sadness in her eyes.

“What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?”

She shook her head.

“No, it's not you. I was just thinking, is this going to work out with us? I mean, I'm older than you, and we both know I could get sick again -”

“I don't care about any of that, I _love_ you!”

He had answered so freely, with no hesitation as he spoke from his heart.

She was blinking away tears as she stepped closer and reached for him, then they embraced. He paused to run his fingers down a lock of her new long hair.

“I love you,” he said softly for a second time, and now he was making a promise. As she drew back and looked into his eyes, she blinked away tears as she started to smile.

“That was what I wanted to hear. _I love you too, I love you so very much!_ ”

He smiled as joy shone in his gaze, then he pulled her close and they shared a kiss as he ran his fingers through her long hair and said again that she was beautiful, then she took him by the hand and led him into the bedroom, where slow kisses turned passionate as their hands tugged at each other's clothing, both equally impatient to be naked and together once more. And while they were in the bedroom, Kelly had a missed call on her phone, and then another....

But the phone was on the table in the kitchen.

She wouldn't know until much later that had missed a total of thirty attempts to reach her. The caller was weeping inconsolably as she left a message on Kelly's phone.

Later, when she accessed the message, Kelly would be shattered by the news. The message was short, but devastating:

“ _Jack's been shot!”_ wept Laura Astor.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Dukken had not expected a morning in bed to change from closeness and warmth and shared intimacy, into a blind panic. Their morning had started off great, with Kelly waking him with kisses as sunlight streamed through the window.

“Where are you going?” Dukken had whispered, as he was pulled from sleep and a memory of standing outside the house when the snow was on the ground, wondering why Melanie had shut him outside while she carried a doll upstairs...

“ _Come back to me, wake up.”_

He opened his eyes on hearing Kelly's voice, and as he looked into her eyes he felt an instant sense of relief: The dream was leaving him already, there was no better reminder of the present than waking beside Kelly.

“Bad dreams?” she asked.

“Kind of... but it's gone now.”

She turned on her side and slowly started to trace a fingertip down the scar that ran deep down the lower half of his body.

“It's a good thing you have this scar,” she said as amusement shone in her eyes, “I mean, at my age, and after being so alone for so long too, I need a map to help me out!”

He laughed softly and then as she slid her hand lower and started to stroke his hardening cock he closed his eyes, giving a sigh as her touch felt like bliss. She slid beneath the covers, taking him gently in her mouth, taking her time as she sucked on his cock. The feel of being warm in her mouth as she sucked so tenderly made him sigh, then he couldn't help but thrust against her as she cupped his balls, fondling them gently as she sucked harder, as he lay there on the brink, watching her mouth slide up and down his shaft. He came in a sharp spurt as she swallowed, then she released him and placed a kiss somewhere between his pubic hair and where that scar ended.

Moments later she was up and heading for the shower as Dukken decided to join her. They shared deep and loving kisses, taking their time as they enjoyed a simple moment of intimacy and togetherness. All her doubts had vanished now, she knew he loved her and she felt free to love him in return, now the fears that had dragged her down were fading. She was out of the shower first, and once she was dressed and ready to start the day, she left Dukken in the bedroom after he had returned from the bathroom, now he was dressed in a t shirt and black jeans and had borrowed her eyeliner as he sat at her dressing table. She had lingered for a moment, watching as he put it on, and he sat there and smiled at her through the mirror and she smiled back, then she went off to the kitchen to start breakfast.

Kelly made coffee first, and while she was doing that she picked up her phone, then she stared at it – by now, she had over fifty missed calls. _Those calls were from Laura..._ As she felt a rising sense of dread and panic, she quickly accessed her messages as she started to shake. She wouldn't have so many calls unless something bad had happened. She and Jack had never been under any illusions about how potentially dangerous their jobs could be... _Please don't let this be bad news,_ ran through her mind, but with so many missed calls from Laura and not from Jack, how could it be anything but bad news? She didn't have to wonder any longer, as she accessed her messages, she heard Laura crying.

“ _Jack's been shot!”_ she wept.

Even though danger was a hazard of their job, Kelly still felt as if the floor had slid away beneath her feet.

More messages came through.

“ _Kelly, please answer your phone! Jack's hurt, he's hurt bad... I'm so scared!... Kelly, where the hell are you? Jack's critical...”_

Kelly stood there in the kitchen listening as all the messages played, as she trembled and blinked away tears. She was slowly piecing it together with each message:

Jack had been out on a case with Fiona - the strangulation case he had been telling her about. He had chased the suspect, who had pulled a gun and fired twice. Jack had no time to raise his own weapon, call a warning or fire back. He had been shot in the shoulder by the first bullet, and as she had heard that news, she had allowed a little relief to cut through the worst of her fears. _It was a shoulder wound. He would get over that, he would live..._

But then Laura tearfully drew in a shaky breath and added, “The second bullet caught his head...” she gave a sob, _“He's he's got a bleed to the brain... The doctor said he might not make it. Pick up the fucking phone, we both need you, where ARE you, Kelly?”_

The last message had been sent just after five pm yesterday... She was still in shock as she checked her text messages, found a couple from colleagues urging her to call Laura because Jack had been involved in a shooting, then she found a text from Laura, sent at two am that morning:

_Jack finally out of surgery. He's on life support. Please come to the hospital as soon as you get this message! He may not pull through._

“Okay, I'm coming, I'll be there...” Kelly whispered as she blinked and tear ran down her face. She pulled up Laura's number, then her battery died and she gave an audible sob. Dukken rushed into the kitchen, looking in alarm at Kelly, who was clutching a phone that had turned dark as tears streamed down her face.

“ _Where the fuck is my charger?”_ she said tearfully, sounding broken and lost, looking about the kitchen in panic and seeing no sign of it, _“I need it.... Dukken, help me find it!”_

“What's happened?” he asked anxiously as he placed a hand on her arm and felt her shake as she sobbed again.

“Jack's been shot, he might not survive... I can't lose my best friend, it's not fair!” she wept as heartbreak reflected in her eyes, _“I lost my marriage, I lost my breast...I am NOT losing my best friend!”_

“I've got you,” Dukken said quickly, and he pulled her close and held her as she wept, feeling shocked to think tough and capable Kelly could fall apart lie this – but Jack was her best friend, he had helped her through so much, and this was one loss she couldn't bear.

Dukken had helped Kelly to find her charger, which was plugged into the wall in the front room where it had always been as long as he had been staying at the apartment. While her phone was charging, he reminded her the house phone was working just fine, and then as she dried her eyes she had nodded, and she made a call right away, to Laura. Dukken had looked on as she tearfully spoke with Jack's wife, as he wished there was more he could do to help. He would have given anything to ease her fears and take away her pain and stop her tears from falling if he could – but he was powerless, all he could do was be there for her. He had stayed back in the doorway as she talked on the phone in the hall, and he followed the conversation well enough despite Kelly getting tearful all over again to understand that Jack had been hit by two bullets. The shoulder wound wasn't serious, but the head injury was. He was on life support, but seemed getting a little stronger already. He wasn't out of danger yet, but he was putting up a fight to stay alive. That had to be a good sign, he hoped. Kelly had wiped away her tears and told Laura she would be with her soon, and then she had ended the call.

Dukken had felt a little nervous on the way to the hospital, not because it reminded him of his ordeal after the stabbing, because he had missed all of that due to the coma. He was uneasy because Kelly was driving, and Kelly was upset and he didn't have the option to offer to take the wheel for her, because she had insisted on driving herself.

“Try not to get us killed!” he had remarked nervously as she started up the engine.

“I'm okay now,” she had replied quietly, and sounded anything but okay.

But by the time they had reached the hospital and left the car and gone to find Laura, Dukken had noticed a change in Kelly. She was still upset but had regained composure, she was determined to stay strong for Jack and his family now the initial shock had worn off.

“I can handle this,” she said to Dukken as they turned a corner and walked up a long corridor, to see Laura leave the ICU and head towards them.

“I'm here for you, I want you to know that, I'm not going to walk off or go home, I'll do what I can to help.”

She glanced at Dukken as gratitude shone in her gaze.

“I know that, and it means a lot.”

He caught her hand in his grip and gently squeezed it, then she let go and hurried over to Laura as the two women embraced as they became tearful all over again. Dukken listened as Laura told Kelly what had happened:

The shoulder wound had been treated and would heal easily. The head wound wasn't quite as terrible as he had first thought, Kelly too had been under the impression that he had been shot in the head, but the bullet had actually ricocheted off a wall and hit him, ripping into his scalp and embedding in his skull, causing a fracture and a bleed beneath it due to the impact. He had undergone surgery to treat the bleed. He was critical but showing signs of improvement. It would be a while before they knew just how bad the long term damage would be. Laura had been told to expect her husband to not make a full recovery, but there was hope he would pull through, and overcome at least some of the injury and the damage it had caused.

It was clear he wouldn't be returning to work, and Kelly knew that she would never be solving a case with him again, but he was still her best friend and like Laura, all she wanted was for him to improve and be out of danger.

It was a long day, waiting outside while Laura and Kelly took turns to sit at his bedside. Dukken just waited, determined to be there for Kelly. She wasn't going anywhere, the same as Laura, not until she knew Jack was going to pull through.

By ten thirty that night, Laura was exhausted. Kelly persuaded her to go home and get some rest for a few hours, reminding her that she would be no use to Jack if she was worn out.

“And the kids need to see you,” she added, “They miss you, they need to see you and hear you say Daddy's as well as can be expected, you have to get some rest, Laura.”

“My sister has the kids,” Laura replied, looking as tired as she felt, “But I have to see them, you're right...”

Kelly had walked off with Laura to drive her home after Dukken had assured her that he was happy to stay until she got back. He had walked up to the room where Jack was on life support and looked through the window. Jack's head was bandaged and there was a dressing on his shoulder, he was surrounded by machines and connected to tubes and wires and he was breathing on oxygen. Dukken silently hoped he would make it, his wife and kids needed him and so did Laura, and Jack was a nice guy, too...

Dukken went back to the waiting area and sat down, resting comfortably on a seat as he closed his eyes. It was getting late, and he was tired. Lately he found he had more energy, it was slowly coming back to him now. But at that moment, after a long day waiting in a hospital corridor, he needed to sleep. And as he slept, a dream tugged him back to the past:

_He was in the kitchen at Melanie's house. She smiled as he smiled back. There was something not quite right about her or the whole situation with her, this weird girl who just let the phone ring without answering it, who had drawn him closer and pushed him away more than once, as if... toying with him? Why? What was she really up to? He reached for the glass of milk. It was thick and sour and he coughed as he spat it out..._

Dukken sat upright in the seat and coughed, for a second tasting that milk all over again. Then a hand was on his shoulder and as Kelly said his name he blinked and looked up at her.

“I took Laura home... did you have a nightmare?”

“Just a bad memory, not the stabbing,” he assured her, and then he got up, passing to rub cautiously at his scar as he stretched his aching back.

“We just need to stay a while longer,” Kelly assured him, “As soon as Laura's back, we can go home...” she turned her head as someone said her name.

“Oh fuck, I really don't need to handle _her_ tonight!” Kelly said under her breath.

Dukken looked down the corridor to see a tall woman in a black business suit striding towards them. She had short, layered blonde hair and her lips were painted ruby red. She looked to be the same age as Kelly, and as she joined her, worry briefly flickered in her gaze.

“Is Jack through the worst now? Is he conscious yet?”

Dukken stepped back, watching as Kelly glared at the blonde.

“No he's not, because he's been fucking shot!” she said sharply, “And _why_ did he get shot, you were supposed to be backing him up!”

“We put out a call for back up before we went in, but the suspect was running and I took the car around the back of the building and Jack went in the front, I heard the shots exchanged, came face to face with the shooter and if it makes Laura feel any better, you can tell her I put the man who shot her husband in the morgue. There was an officer down and and I would have been next, he raised the gun and I fired first.”

“ _Good to know you saved yourself!”_ Kelly said coldly.

The two women glared at each other, then the moment was gone as the blonde turned her head, looking towards the intensive care unit.

“He's still critical?”

“Yes, he is. Laura's been here for twenty four hours, she needed to go home and get some rest and see her kids. I said I'd stay until she came back.”

“Well you can't see him, it's family only right now.”

“That doesn't matter,” Kelly said, looking hard at her, “I've been in and out of his room all day, Laura said I was his sister.”

The woman rolled her eyes.

“I'll never understand the childish bond you and Astor have,” she replied.

“Is that because you don't have any friends?” asked Kelly.

Dukken's gaze was shifting from Kelly to the stranger, wondering if this exchange of words was about to get physical. Then the woman looked at him, then to Kelly again.

“Who's he?”

“I'm with her,” Dukken said, glancing at Kelly as he fondly smiled.

“ _I didn't know you had a son, Kelly!”_

Kelly stared at her in disbelief.

“I'm her boyfriend,” Dukken said, stepping closer.

“I'm Fiona,” she replied, “This really is a surprise.. the two of you are together, wow! You're the young guy who survived the the Doll Maker...”

“Yes, unfortunately I am,” Dukken replied, “Not that I want to talk about that, I'd rather put it behind me and move on.”

Kelly was inwardly seething as she glanced at Fiona. _How dare she make a remark like that, about Dukken being young enough to be her son?_ It was the way she had said it and then the way she had looked at the two of them, as if she thought the relationship was disgusting because of a fifteen year age gap...

“I'm going to sit with Jack,” Kelly said, and then she walked off.

Fiona paused for thought.

“I used to be very close to Jack, a long time ago” she said, “I don't deny I never stopped caring about him. But we all move on, right? While everyone else was nursing bleeding hearts about the shooting, I was finishing up a report regarding what happened today, because someone had to do it, with Jack in the hospital. I don't know what Kelly's told you about me, but I'm frequently misunderstood. I take it you've not known her long?”

“I know her well enough,” Dukken replied, folding his arms as he stood there trying to stay polite but distant as he sensed there was more coming.

_What did come next shocked him._

“Well,” Fiona said with a brief smile as she looked him up and down, “If I were you, I wouldn't go too deep with Kelly. Don't get too involved, she's already had a train wreck of a marriage and then here's the health issues... I can see what she's doing, hair extensions, younger man, trying to turn back the clock...” she stepped closer, whispering as she leaned in, “A handsome guy like you could do better for himself. I'm not saying don't date an older woman, some of us are worth the gamble. But you're betting on the wrong horse with her, honey.”

Dukken stared at her as she stepped back and gave him a discreet smile.

“Um...” he hesitated, not wanting to start a full blown quarrel, because this situation was already bad enough, “I hope you wasn't trying to come on to me,” he said, “Because if you were, I'm just saying, it's a shitty thing to do. I'm not assuming you're a shitty person, I'm just saying it would be shitty of you to try it on with me behind her back, and at a time like this, when Jack's critical. And there's nothing you can say to put me off Kelly. I love her.”

He looked intently at Fiona, whose gaze reflected resentment.

“I'll take a walk down to Jack's room, then I'm leaving.”

“That's good to know,” Dukken said quietly.

She heard him say it, but she didn't look back as she headed off towards Jack's room, where she stood by the window, looking on as Kelly sat by his bed and Jack breathed on oxygen and showed no sign of waking. Then she turned away and walked back down the corridor, passing Dukken without as much as a glance, and headed for the exit. He watched as she walked away, shaking his head as he fully understood why everyone hated Fiona. He would tell Kelly what she had said, but much later, when Jack was out of danger and getting well again, and she could handle hearing about this...

They stayed at the hospital until early morning, when the sun was rising and tired and worried Laura returned. By now there was some good news, Jack was responding well to treatment. But he wasn't out of danger yet, and it would be a few days before they would know for sure that he would make it. Kelly had hugged Laura before leaving, promising to return tomorrow, and then she and Dukken had left together and this time, Dukken insisted on driving as Kelly sat exhausted in the passenger seat, fighting off sleep all the way home.

The next few days were hard.

Kelly was distracted, worried for Jack and jumped every time the phone rang, afraid it was bad news.

_But it wasn't bad news._

Five days after the shooting, Jack started to wake up. By the end of the week he was out of danger, and thankfully, he was conscious and able to talk and hold on to Laura's hand, assuring her that he was okay. Dukken had watched as Kelly had sat at his bedside. She had kissed his cheek fondly and he had opened his eyes, taken a moment to focus, and then smiled.

“Hi Sis,” he said weakly.

“You don't know how glad I am to hear you say that!” Kelly said, blinking back tears of relief as she smiled, “I'm so glad you're okay!”

“I am okay,” he agreed, “Apart from a headache, a bullet to the head does sting a bit.. but I'll live!”

Dukken had smiled on hearing him say that, and then he had turned away leaving Kelly and her best friend to talk, as he quietly worried. Jack had been trying to make light of the situation, but the truth was that bullet had done a lot of damage. He was partially paralysed down one side of his body, and had lost half the vision in his right eye due to optic nerve damage caused by the pressure of the internal swelling. He knew his career was over. And he had a wife and five kids to worry about. Laura had already said, they would have to sell the house. They needed to find a cheaper place to live, and a place that was converted for wheelchair access, because it would be a while before Jack was walking again – if he ever walked again...Dukken wished he could do more to help, and hated he fact that he could do nothing to change the situation. But if all he could do was be supportive to Kelly at this time, it would have to be enough...

Now Jack was out of danger, Kelly's mood had brightened and as the days went by, all the worry that had hung over her started to fade, and Dukken was relieved to see her happier once more. He started to work with the photos he had taken, and Kelly helped him with the cost of getting the main image printed as a large portrait when he had finished perfecting the shot. He had propped it up against the wall in the front room, while the other pictures, regular photographs, were currently stuck on the wall of the second bedroom, where he had moved the furniture out of the way and cleared a space so he could paint. Kelly was returning to work a week from now. In the five weeks that had passed, she and Dukken had become a couple, he was working on his art once more and Jack was still in the hospital, but improving every day, at least as much as he could considering his injuries. It would be around two more months before Jack was able to go home, but life was getting better at last.

Kelly visited Jack at the hospital often, and sometimes, she also went over to the house to see Laura and the kids. Dukken always went with her, and one afternoon at the house, when the kids were rowdy and Laura was busy telling them to quiet down and clean up the mess they had made in the front room, the baby had cried.

“I'll take care of him,” Dukken had offered, and he lifted baby Jack Junior from his rocker and cradled him in his arms as he walked the floor, talking softly to him. The baby started to smile and coo as in that moment, Kelly had felt all her doubts rushing back:

_Dukken was great with kids._

_Would he want a family one day?_

_She was forty years old. She had been through cancer treatment._

_She was highly unlikely to get pregnant now..._

Kelly watched him talking softly to the baby as she got the sinking feeling that they would have to talk about this when they got home, because until now, she hadn't thought that Dukken, so much younger than her, might want a family of his own. That was something she couldn't give him...

Dukken had noticed Kelly was quiet on the way home. He said nothing about it until they returned to the apartment and then he took her by the hand, telling her to follow him and led her into the front room, where they stood in the fading light as he paused to switch on the lamp and the portrait of their joined scars was spotlighted. She glanced at it, then looked into his eyes.

“I still need to get used to seeing that picture there, I never would have thought my scar could be art!” she said with a smile, but then her smile faded,

“You know something is up, you can tell.”

“Talk to me,” he said softly.

“I saw you with the baby, how good you were, how fatherly... and you're great with the older kids, too. I think you'll want a family one day and I can't help you with that. I'm not likely to get pregnant now.”

He looked into her eyes and answered without hesitation.

“Having kids would be something I'd choose – or not – with the person I love, and I'm in love with you, Kelly. So if we can't have kids, it doesn't change a thing. I'll say the same in ten years,” he ran his fingers through her hair and leaned closer, “I love you,” he reminded her as all trace of worry melted from her gaze.

He kissed her softly, then they sank to the carpet and shared more kisses as they tugged at each others clothing, eventually they were naked together as the lamp shone on their skin, illuminating their scars as they made love on the floor in front of the portrait of their joined scars, an imperfection on two otherwise flawless bodies that was now a work of art.

It was five days before Kelly was due to return to work when the call came through, and it was a complete surprise. What happened next would be an even bigger surprise, too...

“Kelly,” said Mandy, “I just heard about Jack! I'm going to see him later today... I can't believe this happened to him, his family must have gone through hell!”

“We all did,”Kelly agreed, “And he's not going to be returning to work, they have to sell the house, too. It's rough on the whole family.”

“And what about you, what have you been doing since I last saw you at the gallery?” Mandy asked.

Dukken was in the spare room working on a portrait. Kelly's mood brightened as she started to smile.

“I've met someone, I've fallen in love,” she said with a smile, and then she began to tell Mandy all about her and Dukken and how Jack's suggestion to help him out had led to her meeting the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

They talked for almost an hour. Then Mandy told her she would stop by tomorrow. Kelly said she was looking forward to seeing her, and then she ended the call.

Next day when Mandy called at the apartment, Dukken was out because he needed to get some art materials. As she walked in, she looked a little upset. Mandy was usually bright and cheerful, her personality reflected in the dyed shade of her platinum hair and her bright clothing, too. But today despite her sunshine yellow blouse and red bead necklace and the flawless make up that defied her age and made her look years younger than forty five, a look of sadness was clearly there in her eyes as they stood together in the hallway.

“Oh Kelly, I saw Jack today. He's struggling, he can't walk, his arm is weak, I didn't even know he'd lost some of his sight in his eye until he told me, it's not something noticeable – until he turns his head around to look across the room. I can't believe his happened to him,” she paused to hug her, then she stepped back again.

“I see him as often as I can,” Kelly told her, “And I'm going back to work soon and it won't be the same without him...”

As she said that, a memory was replaying in her mind:

_Her memory of the day Jack had been assigned to another case without her because a team member was off sick. Jack had summoned her into the Captain's office they had sat down looking across the desk at Sandra, their boss._

“ _We just wanted to speak to you together,” Kelly explained._

“ _I want Kelly on the team with me, I need her expertise,” Jack stated._

“ _No, you're elsewhere for the next two weeks to cover an absence,” Sandra reminded him, “Just do your job, Astor!”_

_Jack had turned to Kelly and clung to her arm tightly._

“ _No, it's not fair, I want to work with Sis! She's my best friend!”_

_As he said that, the Captain had stared at the pair of them as Kelly had dissolved into a fit of giggles._

“ _You two are like kids in a playground!” she exclaimed, “No, you can't work with your BFF for the next two weeks, now get out of my office!”_

Kelly smiled at the memory, then as she led her down the hallway, Mandy spoke again.

“So you're with the survivor from the Dollmaker case... I've never met him, but I read all about him in the news. He's a brave guy.”

“He's the best thing that ever happened to me,” Kelly told her as they walked into the front room.

“ _Oh my god, what the fuck am I looking at?”_

As Mandy said that, she stood there staring at the portrait of two bodies close together, with two scars aligned so perfectly they looked to be as one.

“Oh, that's Dukken's artwork... I realise it's probably not the kind of stuff you see in the gallery, he's not an artist by profession, it's a hobby.”

Mandy stood there in front of the image, staring intently at it.

“It's so painful and raw, but it's beautiful!”

“It's just me and Dukken, our scars... He's got his own idea of what art can be, I know its not professional -”

“ _It's genius...”_ Mandy said in a hushed voice, and her gaze was still on the large photograph in monochrome that sat in a frame leaning against the wall, “That's his scar from the knife wound?”

“It's from the surgery to repair the stab wounds,” she replied, looking on as Mandy kept her gaze on the image, as it started to dawn on Kelly that her friend who was an expert in the art world actually _liked_ Dukken's picture...

“And the other one is your mastectomy scar?”

“It is.”

Mandy tore her gaze from the image with reluctance, then enthusiasm shone in her eyes.

“Does he have more like this?”

“Yes, he works night and day on his paintings and his photographs, why?”

“Has anyone else seen his work?”

Kelly shook her head.

“Good!” Mandy told her, “He needs to keep it that way! I need to meet him, I have to speak with him, Kelly! It's not every day I discover an artist with this kind of talent. Your Mr Dukken is going to make a fortune from his work!”

It was a day neither of them would ever forget.

Dukken had arrived home shortly after to meet Mandy, who explained just how special she believed his work to be. He listened, then told her yes, he wanted to sell his works...

_Things happened fast._

Suddenly everyone who was anyone in the world of art wanted to meet Dukken. Mandy arranged for him to have use of studio space to carry on his work, and told him he needed to get it done as soon as possible, because she wanted to hold an exhibition of his work at the gallery – a lot of wealthy clients were interested. Dukken had agreed, and then set to work in the new studio, working long hours every day. And while he was making his plans to take the art world by storm, Kelly returned to work, glad to be back in her job but feeling deeply sad that Jack's desk was vacant. He wouldn't be returning to work ever again, and that thought broke her heart.

_But it turned out that she had more to handle at work than missing her best friend...._

On her first day back she stayed in the office, at Jack's desk, handling all the jobs he was unable to finish that still required office time. It was lunchtime, it was quiet, some colleagues were out on a case, others had gone to lunch and those who remained were over the other side of the room. Kelly was alone, until she heard the click of high heeled shoes and looked up to see Fiona standing beside her.

“What do you want?” she said, looking back to the computer screen.

“I just wondered how you and _young_ Mr Dukken are getting along.”

Her tone of voice had sounded like pure venom.

“ _Jealous?”_ Kelly replied, looking up at her with a glare that said it all:

If Fiona had a problem, she would happily take it outside and end this any way she had to - but if she was expecting her to lose it here in the office and get herself fired, she was very much mistaken...

On hearing her response, Fiona shook her head.

“No, I'm not jealous, Kelly. I just think you're kidding yourself if you think a guy of his age would want you long term. But that's nothing to do with me, I won't bother giving friendly advice... I just hope you know it's likely everyone is talking about you behind your back over this.”

Kelly rose from her seat.

Now she had a choice, punch Fiona in the face and enjoy the immense satisfaction of handling her bullying the old fashioned way, or doing nothing and keeping her job. It wasn't something she needed to think about as she recalled the times in the past when Fiona had baited her for the hell of it and Jack had told her to walk away...

“I'm too busy for your bullshit,” Kelly said, and lifted some paperwork from the tray on her desk.

“I was going shopping with my son after work,” Fiona added, “I was going to tell him to meet me here. But he's in his teens, and now I know your _thing_ for younger men, I thought it might safer to keep him away from my workplace, away from you.”

Kelly stopped abruptly and turned back to Fiona as murderous rage blazed in her eyes.

And Fiona hadn't finished yet...

“Oh sorry, he's not that young is he, Dukken's twenty five... toy boy? He's your _toy boy_... I guess that doesn't make it sound _quite_ so offensive...”

Her fist was longing to slam into Fiona's mouth and silence her spiteful words, but Kelly resisted the urge.

“Yeah, you're jealous,” was all she said, then she walked away.

Fiona watched her leave, then she glanced about the office and smirked as she took her lipstick from her pocket and quickly scrawled something across Kelly's screen, then she walked away.

When Kelly returned to her desk she stopped and stared, hit by shock and anger as she saw a word written across the computer screen :

_PERV._

She reached into her bag, grabbed a wet wipe and started to frantically clean the screen as the lipstick came off on the wipe and then she folded it and cleaned the screen again. Internally, she was livid: _How dare Fiona imply she was a pervert! Dukken was a man of twenty five! Now she regretted not throwing that punch..._

“Kelly, is everything okay?”

As she heard the voice of her boss she stopped cleaning and turned to see Sandra stood beside her. Sandra was in her mid forties and had long ebony hair and dark skin and brown eyes that could reflect kindness or anger in equal measure, and she certainly knew how to run this department, she also knew what bullying looked like _and_ she knew all about Fiona...

“I'm fine,” Kelly replied.

Sandra looked at her intently as she kept her voice low.

“You're not fine, you've been through a rough time personally, and now your best friend isn't coming back to work because he's in the hospital trying to learn to walk again. And he last thing you need is Fiona being bitch of the year! I'm well aware of what she's like, all you have to do is make a complaint and I promise you I'll come down on her so hard she'll get the disciplinary action she's deserved for a very long time. What did she do?”

Kelly shook her head. She felt sure this was something she ought to brush off, because she had done a lot in her time as a detective, she had caught killers and dodged bullets and then there was all the upheaval in her personal life away from work... she had handled so much. She could easily handle Fiona, she decided.

“It was nothing,” she told her, “Fiona's jealous because I'm dating Dukken, he's younger than me but we're very happy together.”

Sandra smiled.

“It's about time you found some happiness... Is this the same Dukken who survived the Dollmaker?”

“The case is closed, there's no reason why I can't see him now.”

Sandra looked at her kindly.

“Damn right you can see him! Go for it, I'm happy for both of you.”

“Nice to know someone is,” Kelly replied, “Don't worry about the Fiona issue. I'll tell you if it gets out of hand.”

“Make sure you do, I won't tolerate workplace bullying,” Sandra reminded her, “I doesn't matter how tough you are, it still hurts and no one deserves to be treated like shit, Kelly. I've got your back if you need me.”

“Thanks,” Kelly told her, then Sandra went back to her office and Kelly got on with her day, deciding from now on, she would try and avoid Fiona at all costs. She would like nothing better than to knock her the fuck out for the things she had said, but she knew if she did she would lose her job, and if she complained, Fiona would find ways to strike back. So ignoring her, as tough as it seemed, was the only way to handle it...

On her way home from work, Kelly stopped off at the studio. It was a large converted garage with skylight windows and a heavy door at the front, set at the back of the gallery. The whole area was patrolled by security staff but only on the outside, in here it was just her and Dukken and as he turned away from the finished paintings of their bodies and scars that turned to roads and pathways that led to beautiful blossoming flowers as a dove carrying a heart escaped from the scar on her chest, he paused to rearrange the original photos on a table, and then he turned to her and smiled.

“I'm glad you stopped by, I have an idea for another image. Lock the door.”

There was a seductive look in his eyes as she slid the bolt across and then went over to join him.

“What's this idea? I have a feeling it might be fun...”

He told her about it. She stared at him, then he assured her every part of the original shot would be shadowed out, leaving only a silhouette behind.

“Do you want to do it?” he asked softly.

“Yes, I do,” she replied.

“ _Take your panties off,”_ said Dukken with a smile.

A short while later, her clothing was folded on a chair and she was on the floor on her back, his hands were on her inner thighs as he parted her legs, kissing and licking and tasting her juices. Then he looked up at her.

“I might have to do this a little bit hard.”

“Please do!” she gasped.

“Try not to come!” he added with a chuckle, then he went down on her again, and sucked softly at her clit, then much harder as she gave a soft moan.

He paused to look at her sex, swollen and enlarged, then he sucked again, sharply. As she gave a soft moan he told her to get up on her knees and keep her legs apart. As soon as she was up on her knees he slipped two fingers into her wetness, opening them up in a v shape, spreading her, then he lightly toyed with her clit at the same time as her juices ran and she throbbed with the need for release.

“ _Not yet. Keep still...”_

Dukken got up and turned on a bright light behind her, then he grabbed his camera and knelt in front of her, pausing to laugh softly as the heat from her body steamed up the lens, then he took the lens in close up and took several shots.

“ _Hurry up!”_ she urged, and he put the camera aside and placed his hands on her hips as he quickly explained again.

“This is what I want to do with it - your clitoris and labia up close against a bright background, so close that the outline is perfect - and your actual body in darkness, complete shadow. I want to show arousal for what it is, men can get hard, so do women and it's not talked about enough or appreciated enough for its beauty - _and I think you need to come now_.”

She closed her eyes, her fingers sliding through his hair and pushing him harder against her body as he started to firmly and quickly lap at her swollen clit with the tip of his tongue. She breathed hard, clinging to him, as his tongue on her swollen sex was too much to take. With another firm stroke she lost control, coming hard and loudly as he pulled back, then he placed his hand on her slit, pressing firmly as she gave another moan, feeling every last throb of her climax.

She was still recovering from it as Dukken turned off the light behind her, then he grabbed his hooded top and laid it on the ground, then she laid on top of it and he hurriedly unbuckled his belt and tugged at his zip, impatient to free his erection. He entered her with a firm thrust, now they were both breathless and gasping as they made passionate love. He came quickly, his face flushed as he drew back and looked into her eyes.

“I love you _so_ much!” he whispered, and she drew him into her arms where they lay together naked on the floor, surrounded by his paintings as the sound of their breathing filled the room along with the scent of sex and the heat from their bodies.

_The next few weeks saw much change coming._

Kelly struggled on at work, ignoring the cruel and sometimes vile remarks made by Fiona as she finished up every task left by Jack. Then she went back to her own work, and she was partnered by a female colleague she had known for a few years, who was a pleasant enough person – but she still missed Jack. It felt like nothing would ever be the same again.

Dukken had been told his first exhibition would make him rich and famous. He was already making plans to move to a place of his own, a place for him and Kelly. When it came to the money aspect of his work, she had thought at first he meant a few grand, but she was mistaken.

Mandy had actually said, _You will make millions, Dukken._

And Dukken had made the very smart move of telling her that when the money started to come in he wanted to help her out, because Mandy was searching for a bigger gallery, and thinking about relocating to the coast. So he said, he would invest as a partner in her gallery, making him even more money in the process.

And Kelly was happy for him, and she wanted to be enthusiastic about his plans, but he wanted to move away from here, far from the bad memories of the past, starting a new life. He assumed she would love the idea, too.

But Jack had just got out of the hospital and was struggling to cope at home, both with his disability and with the fact that they had to sell the house because money would be tight and he had five kids to raise. He needed his best friend.

Kelly felt torn in two, not knowing what to decide for the best:

_Should she leave with Dukken and enjoy a great new life?_

_Or should she stay, because Jack and Laura needed her help?_

_It wasn't an easy decision to make..._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Mandy had said he would make a fortune, and he did._

Much change was happening in their lives now.

Kelly was overjoyed for Dukken after the success of his exhibition, and pleasantly shocked to learn after the sale of his highly valued piece, Pathways of Flesh, the portrait that had featured their joined scars, he was a millionaire. And more money poured in from the sale of his collection of images of his stab wound and her chest scar. His paintings were sought after, too. She had felt a little awkward when the close up shadow outline of her body just prior to orgasm sold for a huge amount of money – but it was all shapes, no actual detail remaining to show anything but black and white, but everyone said he was a genius, and Kelly knew that was true – and now, he was very rich, too.

Dukken had wasted no time, two months after the sale of his works, he was ready to work on more art pieces – and ready to start looking for a new place to live. Mandy had found a gallery that was three times the size of her old one, but it was on the coast, and that was where Dukken was planning to go, he wanted the ocean on his doorstep, he wanted to be far from the memories of Melanie Crow and the stabbing...

Kelly had said nothing about her worries regarding Jack and his family as they drove up to the coast together, to look at the new place Dukken had bought. She had been working when he had viewed the place, and when he had called her to say he had decided to buy it, she had said, _That's great,_ and stayed silent about the rest. She would have to talk to him soon, but not yet. Jack and Laura had put their house up for sale. They were desperate to get out and move somewhere more suited to Jack's needs, but that was a long way off...

They drove to the coast in Dukken's new, expensive car, it was black just like his favourite clothing. The sun was out that day and as they drove along a road with a coastal view, the water was calm. It was edging towards winter now, but today, the sun was bright and they were wrapped up against the chill in thick coats. Dukken had been telling her all about the new place.

“You'll love it, Kelly!” he said excitedly.

She managed a smile as they headed towards the house, but her heart was still with her best friend and his family, Jack needed her help more than ever, and to turn her back on him now, and Laura and the kids too, felt like a betrayal...

Dukken parked the car and switched off the engine, then he got out and so did Kelly.

“What do you think?” Dukken asked, “Do you like it?”

She looked at the white painted house:

The roof was flat, the place was all on one level, it was rectangular and laid back for a good distance. The front of the house was smaller, tall and less wide, with windows that curved at the corners instead of the usual sharp angles. The front door was yellow, and to the left of the building was a built in garage with a wooden door, solid and painted black. And it looked old, but it was in great condition, and as they stood in the driveway she could hear the cry of seagulls and the rush of ocean to shore beyond the land behind the property, where Dukken had said it was a short walk to the beach. He took her hand, they walked up the driveway together.

“I think it's beautiful,” Kelly said.

“It's an 1920s art deco style house, six bedrooms, huge front room, dining room, there's a lot of archways instead of doors, big wide ones.... and it's got an original fireplace, too - but it was renovated by the owner before the sale, so its mostly modern in there, wood flooring, painted in white and off white – that can be changed, I don't care... Want to see inside?”

Kelly nodded, watching as he unlocked the door, then as they stepped into the hallway and she looked about the place, she thought it was a little too big for two people, but if Dukken wanted a mansion sized home, that was up to him, he had earned a fortune and clearly, he loved this place...

He led her through to a front room, then a dining area, then a spacious, recently fitted kitchen. He showed her the bathroom and added there was another in the main bedroom. The bedrooms were along two hallways, one running left, the other right. Each room was pale and smelled of fresh paint and the heating system was new, everything in here had just been installed and it was perfect, apart from the size of the place...

They opened up wide doors that led to another empty room, and then he opened up the back door and they stepped out on to a patio area. Beyond it the lawn stretched far and wide, and the fences were high. There was a gate set into the back fence, and he smiled as he glanced at her, she took his hand and he led her down to that gate, then opened it up. Beyond was a pathway that cut through a small meadow, and as they made their way through it, she saw the path that gradually inclined downward, towards a beach and the water beyond.

“It's perfect,” he said.

“Yes, it's lovely...” she replied, “But I don't know what we're going to do with all those bedrooms!”

He just smiled and led her back towards the gate.

“Let me show you something,” he told her, “This is _so_ cool!”

She didn't know what he was talking about now as they had seen all of the house and the garden, but as they walked up the garden towards the house, he indicated to a second gate set into the fence.

“Wait till you see what's behind this!” he exclaimed.

Dukken opened up the gate and she followed him through into another garden. She looked to the far end of it, where the fencing ran along identical in height to next door, there was a gate set into that fence, too, providing access to the beach beyond it. Then she looked the other way, and was surprised to see the garden ended where a building stood. _There was another building next to the house?_ She had not noticed it from the front, because a big old tree was beside the garage, and her attention had been focused on the building. But now as she looked she realised, there was a second house here, it was a wide, 1970s style bungalow with a huge extension, with wide windows that had recently been added, the roof was red tiled and the place looked to be in very good shape.

“That's going to be my studio,” he said, as they approached the back way in, and he unlocked the door and led her inside, “There's a back door leading to the kitchen, did you see the pathway that runs beside the extension? That's where the actual back door is,” he told her, "But we can get in from the back via the extension too," and then they left the extension, stepping into a kitchen area. The place looked a few years old, but the kitchen was in good shape, and new appliances had recently been fitted.

“This way!” he said with a sparkle in his gaze, and she followed him through the kitchen, out to a hallway where he showed her around the spacious property.

“There are two bedrooms, but I can use the second one as a place to store my work, I know it's going build up fast,” he told her, and then he opened up the bedroom door and she looked into a room with soft pink roses on the walls and pale drapes at the window. The carpet was grey and deep and soft and white nets hung at the windows. Mirrored wardrobes were built in along one wall, leaving plenty of space for a ton of furniture. He went over to a doorway on the other side of the room and opened it up to a black and white bathroom suite.

“That's the en suite, there's another bathroom down the hallway,” he told her, and then they left the main bedroom, and he showed her a room with dark green wallpaper and matching drapes.

“I think I could have my own library in here!” he said excitedly, “I have _so_ many rooms!”

“And you own both these places?” she said in surprise.

Dukken turned to her and smiled.

“Wait for it, I'm not done yet!”

He showed her a pale green bathroom, then they looked into a dining room, and finally, he showed her the front room, this place wasn't as huge as the one next door, but it was more than big enough. It had old, heavily patterned wallpaper and a carpet of black and burnt orange that swirled together. There was a brick built fireplace, too.

“Don't you think this place is cool? It's so retro!”

Dukken was so enthusiastic about it, Kelly couldn't help but smile.

“I can't believe you bought this place just for the huge back room, Dukken!”

“It's a good studio space.”

“It is,” she agreed, “But, _two_ houses?”

He gave a shrug.

“I can afford it, “ he reminded her as he led her to the front door where a large octagon wall mirror hung, “Besides, I could have blown a ridiculous amount of money on some big designer place, but I don't need to make a statement like that. And these two places were old but in great condition, they just needed a little bit of work and the whole cost was a fraction of what one big, modern house would have been. So I got both.”

He opened up the front door and they stepped outside as Kelly zipped her coat up tighter, feeling the chill come in from the sea air.

“But two properties? We don't really need two, Dukken, you could have put a studio at the back of the other house and just bought one!” she laughed as she said that.

Dukken looked at her, smiling as he shook his head, “Actually, I didn't -”

He was distracted by the sound of a second car on the driveway. Kelly looked at him in surprise.

“What are Jack and Laura doing here?” she asked.

Dukken glanced at her and as their eyes met, she realised.

“ _You didn't?”_

He laughed softly as he nodded.

Kelly blinked away tears.

“ _I'm going to love you forever!”_ she said.

“I know that. But they don't know anything yet. I've always said I hate surprises, and I assume maybe other people do too - but good ones are okay.”

She looked at him, in awe of his kindness as she thought again how much she loved this remarkable man. Then he hurried off to meet Laura as she got out of the car, then she opened up the passenger side and she and Dukken helped Jack from the vehicle, and then into his wheelchair. He was now able to walk very short distances on a good day using a cane, but he wasn't having too many good days just yet. Jack turned his chair and then wheeled it a little closer and looked to the house, and then the slightly smaller one beside it.

“When you said come and see the house, I didn't realise you had two!” Laura said in surprise.

Dukken glanced towards the bungalow.

“Well, that place has a great studio space,” he replied, “And it's perfect for me and Kelly.”

Jack and Laura exchanged a puzzled glance, then Jack looked to Dukken.

“So why did you buy both?” he asked.

Dukken indicated to the bungalow with the red tiled roof.

“That's my place, that's for me and Kelly...”

Kelly had just joined them, and she smiled as she looked on, knowing what he was about to say next.

“ _And that,”_ Dukken said, indicating to the big art deco place in front of them, _“Is for you and and the kids.”_

He put the keys into Laura's hand as she looked at him, speechless.

“You're both like family to Kelly – you are her family, and you need a new place,” he added looking to Jack, “And I can help you, so I did. Kelly told me how you said you used to take the kids to the beach in the summer, and she said you worried that you couldn't do that any more. Now you can, we're right on top of the beach. And I had a gate put in the side fence, so when you want you see your Sis, you don't have to walk to the long way around, Jack.”

Jack stared at him. He looked to the house, then back at Dukken.

“I can't believe you did this for us, thank you so much!” Laura said as she blinked back tears of joy.

For Jack, it was still sinking in.

“As soon as we sell our old house, we'll pay you back for this,” he said as his voice trembled and he fought back tears.

“No you won't,” Dukken told him, “You keep that money – you've got five kids to think about. And if you need anything, any time, anything at all – ask me. You're my family too and I want to take care of you, because I can, I really can easily afford to do that now,” then he smiled, “The nearest town is a mile away. There are schools for the kids and everything else that you need. I checked it all out before I took the property. And I'll never forget it's thanks to you that I met Kelly. _So it's also my way of thanking you, Jack. Thank you for bringing her into my life._ ”

Jack reached for Dukken, pulling him close as hugged him.

“You are _so_ kind!” he said tearfully, “Thank you so much for this!”

“Now you can be with Sis any time you want,” Dukken reminded him as he stepped back, “We can all be a family.”

Laura had just hugged Kelly.

“He's awesome!” Dukken heard Laura say.

“I know!” Kelly replied excitedly, and Dukken felt his face flushing as he briefly glanced away, feeling shy as he pretended not to hear such high praise.

As Jack slowly made his way into the house with his wife to take a look around, Dukken and Kelly waited outside in the driveway, and she couldn't stop smiling now.

“I was going through hell,” she admitted, “Thinking about us moving here and me leaving Jack behind with all their worries...I felt so torn in half about it.”

“And now you don't have to worry,” he reminded her, “We can all be together, I've had some very good fortune and I don't see why I shouldn't share that with the people who matter.”

Kelly hugged him tightly, her eyes shining with joy.

“ _I love you so much!”_

“I love you too,” he assured her, giving her a soft kiss as love shone in his gaze.

They didn't move in right away.

Dukken waited for Jack and Laura to sell their house, then he took care of the removal expenses too. They had one week to go, and they would be in their new homes. By now Kelly had given in her notice, and she laughed and smiled on her last day at work, thanking her colleagues for their cards and gifts, but even as she hugged Sandra, who walked out with her to the parking area and helped her load up the car before she left the building for the last time, Kelly wasn't feeling as happy as she knew she ought to be. But she kept that to herself, and didn't let the smile fade from her face until she was driving away. This ought to be the happiest time of her life, but recently, a shadow of fear had crept over her. She had kept it from everyone, even Dukken, but she knew she would have to tell him today when she got home, before they packed up the last of their stuff ready for the move...

_She just... didn't feel right._

Kelly had recently had a check up and she had been told she was still cancer free. But she felt tired all the time, all she wanted to do after a long day at work was sleep. Dukken had said it was winter and she worked long hours, and she was feeling the cold as well as the pressure of her job. But her breast was painful, on and off. She didn't want to think the worst. The doctor had told her the tests were clear and she was doing just fine. But every time she wondered about it, she broke down and cried. And she had kept all of this secret hoping it would go away, but it didn't. She went back to the apartment, let herself in, stepped over boxes packed for the move and went through to the front room. Dukken got up from the sofa with a smile on his face, and then he saw the look in her eyes and his smile faded.

“What's wrong, Kelly?” he asked.

She gave a sob.

“I think I'm sick again,” she said tearfully, and he pulled her close and held her tightly as he tried to fight off a wave of fear had just washed cold over him.

“No, you can't be, you saw the doctor recently and he said you're doing fine, they don't make mistakes like that, Kelly!”

He looked into her eyes, and it pained him to see such fear in her gaze.

“You're not sick,” he told her, “We're moving house, leaving the area, you just left your job today – it's stressful, even good changes are tough to get used to.”

Kelly felt angry at herself for falling apart like this, she had always been so strong and capable, but that fear creeping back was way to much to handle.

“If I'm dying, I'm sorry,” she said tearfully, “I just want to live and be with you!”

“And you will live,” he said firmly, “You're _not_ leaving me, Kelly!” he ran his hand over her hair as he looked into her eyes, “You saw the doctor, he said you're fine. I think you're worrying too much.”

She desperately wanted him to be right. His kisses and his touch and his softly spoken words reassured her that night as eventually, she drifted off to sleep in his arms, the worst of her fears laid aside, at least for now. But she still worried when she woke the next morning. Maybe it was just the move and all the changes that were happening, but if it was, stress of any kind had never made her feel like this. She had never felt like this before in her whole life...

Two days later, she was feeling a little better. But the worry stayed with her as they packed up more boxes and kept everything still unpacked to a minimum to make moving day easier. Dukken insisted that she was fine, she was just worried. But Kelly was worrying because she thought he might be wrong, she might be right and maybe even her doctor had been wrong to say she was fine. It felt a like a spiral of paranoia and each time it grabbed her, Dukken was there to reassure her. Then they ran low on food, just a few days before the move, and her heart had sunk at the thought of taking a trip into town to grab groceries. Even little things felt like a task as hard as hiking up a huge mountain at this time. But Dukken said he would go with her.

“Our stuff is packed up,” she had said as they parked the car outside the supermarket, “I was getting used to the emptying fridge, seeing everything slowly vanishing, it needs to be empty for when we move -”

“We have brand new appliances at the new place,” he reminded her.

“I just want to be there _now!_ ”

“And you also wanted to wait for Jack and Laura to move, remember?”

She gave a heavy sigh and she looked at Dukken.

“I just want this over with! I'm shocked how much this is stressing me out!”

Dukken's gaze softened as he looked into her eyes. It was dark outside, it was evening, the street lights were on and the bright light from the supermarket shone into the vehicle, making his goth make up look extra shadowed against his pale face as he leaned closer and kissed her.

“Maybe you thought you'd live and work in the same place all your life until you retire. You didn't know we would meet an everything would change. You also know we're financially secure and you've never had that before, not like we have it now – you might be looking for stuff to worry about, because maybe there's a void now, and the part of your mind that needs to worry wants to fill it with something.”

Dukken had made it sound so simple, yet so complex.

“I doubt I'm that complicated.”

He laughed.

“I like to think you are. And then there's the danger you used to face every day when you worked on murder cases. That's not there now. The day you decided to give that up and start a new life with me, you'd decided on a huge life change. And then there's the fact that your best friend had also left work – for different reasons – so much has changed, you would feel the impact. Just keep remembering, we're going to have a great life together and your best friend is next door. You've got nothing to fear.”

“Except the unknown, so I'm looking for something scary to fill the hole where all my other fears used to be.”

“Correct.. _.I think_. But I don't know for sure.”

They were still looking at each other as his hand closed over hers.

“Most people never get the chance to change their lives like we have,” Dukken reminded her, “And we both know how life can hold unknown surprises – _surprise, you're a millionaire, Dukken!_ ” he paused, shaking his head as his thoughts turned to the other side of the unexpected, “Let's remember the other kind of surprises life has given us so far. Melanie surprising me with a knife... then stabbing me twice and leaving me for dead. And you finding out the lump was malignant and losing a breast. That's the scary part of being alive, sometimes what's around the corner is just death waiting to trip us up. Life can be a real bitch sometimes. All we can do is hope for the best.”

His words carried so much truth.

“And I need to stop worrying about every little ache and pain and stop obsessing about my health?”

“That's right!” he confirmed.

She opened up the car door.

“Let's get the shopping done for the last time before we move, I _so_ want to get this out of the way!”

It was just an ordinary trip to the supermarket, as they browsed the aisles. They had lingered in the wine and spirits aisle as they looked at bottles of vodka, Kelly smiling as she said it would be nice to get Jack's favourite and surprise him on the day he and Laura moved in.

“Or shall I get the red wine, they both like that too, but they only save it for special occasions, and always with a dinner involved...”

As Kelly was talking to Dukken, someone else had just stopped strolling down the aisle - as Fiona looked on in surprise to see Kelly and her now wealthy toy boy lover, talking fondly as they discussed vodka or red wine...

“I'll take a look at the wine,” Dukken said, and he walked off for a moment.

Fiona made a move quickly.

“Hi, Kelly!”

She turned around, stunned to see Fiona had suddenly joined her.

“So,” Fiona said, “I heard all about your toy boy making millions. I can see why you're attracted the youthful, attractive and _wealthy_ Dukken. But the big question is,” she leaned in uncomfortably close, dropping her voice to a whisper, _“What the hell does he see in YOU?”_

Kelly felt her anger rising, but she thought about her life, and how it was so much happier than Fiona's – this was why she was such a bitch. Every relationship Fiona had failed, because in Fiona's world, she was perfect and everyone else was flawed. It was fun to her, to tear other people down and Fiona considered every one of her faults, bad points and issues, as assets. Because in Fiona's world, she was the perfection no one else could quite attain. Fiona was a sad, lonely person who enjoyed being a bitch, and if that was all she had in life she could fucking keep it, she wasn't worth the trouble, Kelly thought to herself.

“I guess you don't understand the concept of real love,” Kelly replied, “We're just happy to be together and money has nothing to do with it. And I really don't care what you think.”

Then Fiona said something _else_ , a little louder this time, a parting shot that she hoped would cause her maximum upset. And as Kelly stared her, then anger rose in her eyes, Fiona walked away.

_And so did someone else, who had just seen and heard everything._

Sandra had stopped off to get a bottle of wine for the weekend, and she had just witnessed every spiteful word Fiona had just said. But Kelly had left now, she didn't work for the department any more, and that was probably why Fiona had made such a bold move... Sandra carried on shopping, and left the aisle as Dukken returned and hurried over to join Kelly, noticing at once that she was upset.

“Oh, I could kill Fiona...” she said in a low voice as she struggled to contain her anger, “Let me tell you what she just said to me!”

Dukken listened, as a flash of anger reflected in his gaze, then it was gone as he did his best to calm the situation, reminding her, they were never shopping here again, they were moving away soon and she would never see Fiona again - she needed to let this go.

They decided on the vodka for Jack, then grabbed a couple of oven ready pizzas and went off to pay for their shopping and then go home. But as they left the store, they were walking to the car when Kelly went over _exactly_ what Fiona had said to her as a parting shot. As they reached the car, Dukken looked over at Fiona, who was nearby and loading up her own vehicle.

“I didn't tell you this before – firstly because it was a bad time, and secondly, there hasn't been a right time since to bring up something else to upset you,” he said honestly, “But I know how angry she makes you. She upset me when she came on to me - or tried to. I told her I thought it was a shitty thing to do, and I told her how much I love you.”

Kelly looked over at Fiona, whose back was turned as she packed away her shopping, then back to Dukken as they stood beside his car.

“ _When_ did she do this?”

Now he felt bad about sharing it. Kelly had been through enough stress, but he wanted her to know, so they could leave all the shit behind with nothing left unsaid before they left town forever...

“It happened on the day we were at the hospital.”

“ _While Jack was critical? She came up to you and -”_

“I told her what I thought of her,” Dukken cut in quickly, “I made it very clear I wasn't interested. She's so sad and desperate, she needs to get a life!”

“I'm done with her shit!” Kelly said bitterly as her fist closed tightly and she looked over the space where Fiona was parked.

“Kelly leave it, she's not worth it!”

Rage and hurt blazed in her eyes as she glanced back at Dukken.

“No she's not, but _I_ am!” Kelly replied, then he looked on in alarm as she walked quickly towards Fiona, who was putting the last of her shopping away, her back still turned.

“Hey,” Kelly said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

_Fiona turned around. A fist slammed into her face._

She staggered back against her car then fell to her knees as her head swam and her hands flew to her face as blood spurted from her busted nose as the blood shone dark under the night lit parking zone.

And after all those years as a cop, Kelly knew violence was never the answer.

Well, sometimes _maybe_ it was, under extreme circumstances when nothing else would suffice...

That pain and anger inside her that had heated up like a burning coal started to cool as Dukken ran over, his eyes wide as he looked to Fiona kneeling bleeding on the ground, and then to Kelly, who breathed out slowly, and shook her head.

“I'm in the shit. This is nothing to do with you, it's my problem - if she presses charges, if she sues me -”

“ _I saw that.”_

“Oh shit!” Dukken said under his breath, it was the exact same phrase that had run through Kelly's mind as at that moment, her former boss Sandra had walked over to join them.

Kelly closed her eyes, shaking her head, recognising the gigantic personal fuck up she had just made as she heard Sandra say, _“You can press charges if you want to...”_

She met Dukken's gaze.

“I'm sorry. If she thinks pushing me to this will get money out of you to pay for what I did, she's wrong. This is on me.”

“I totally understand why you did it,” Dukken assured her.

“ _And so do I.”_

Kelly and Dukken looked at Sandra in surprise.

“ _What the fuck?”_ whined Fiona as she wiped away more blood, _“I'm the victim, you bitch!”_ as she stammered those words Fiona was struggling shakily to her feet, pulling a tissue from her pocket as she tried to stem the bleeding.

“I said,” Sandra repeated as she turned to Kelly, “You can press charges for harassment if you want to. I'm fully aware of what she was like to work with, and the stuff she said to you - and I heard _everything_ just now in the supermarket.”

“CCTV will prove what she just did!” Fiona said bitterly as she stemmed the flow of more blood.

“No, it won't,” Sandra replied, indicating to the angle of the camera, “Fortunately you're parked in an area where the camera caught your car, but not what happened behind it – you're parked in a blind spot! And as for what happened, I saw it, Fiona. _I saw you trip and fall on your face._ How does it feel to be on the other end unfairness? Does it make you feel small?”

Fiona's jaw dropped.

“I'm watching you,” Sandra added as she jabbed a finger in her direction, “One more vile remark from you towards anyone, and you're out! I'm not afraid to stand up to you!”

Then she turned to Kelly and Dukken.

“Don't worry about this. She's had it coming for a long time. And what she said to you was unforgivable, Kelly,” she smiled warmly, “I hope the two of you have a great life together. Good luck with the move, and be sure to let me know when your next exhibition is ready, Dukken. I don't think I can quite afford one of your photographs, or a painting. But I might be able to grab a couple of your reproduction prints for my front room!”

Dukken smiled.

“Thank you,” he said warmly.

Kelly hugged Sandra. By now, Fiona had got into her car and was driving away. Dukken went back to his own car to wait for Kelly, who lingered back to talk to Sandra for a short while. Then she joined him, and he and Kelly drove away, heading for home.

When the day came to move house, everything went smoothly.

By nightfall, Kelly and Dukken were in their new home as next door, the sound of Jack and Laura's noisy kids carried over the fence.

“I think I'll have to keep the doors closed when I'm working in the summer,” Dukken told her as he got into bed and put his arms around her, ready to fall asleep after their exhausting move and spend their first night together in their new home, “Those kids are _so_ loud!” he laughed as he said that, then added, “Don't tell Jack or Sarah I said that, I don't mind the noise, but I do need peace when I work.”

“Most of the time you've got your ear buds in and the volume up listening to heavy metal!”

“I know that, Kelly - but sometimes I like silence, too.”

The kids had gone quiet. Then they heard Laura's voice drift across the garden as she called to the twin boys and said, _Now, please – that means you too!_ And finally, the back door closed on the property next door.

Now all they could hear was the sound of the sea as it ran to shore in the distance, and Dukken turned out the light, pausing to kiss Kelly before the two of them embraced closer and drifted off to sleep.

_Their new life was easy to settle into._

As the weeks passed, both houses had their unpacking done and the rooms all furnished how they wanted it to be, even though it was winter, the kids were out in the garden every day after school, and Dukken was used to the noise by now. As soon as the kids were playing loudly, his earbuds were in and the volume was up as he listened to Metallica and worked on his art in the studio.

A few miles away, Mandy's new gallery was almost ready to open. She and Dukken would make a fortune from the place – and his next exhibition wasn't scheduled for at least five years. He had time to work and enjoy life with Kelly and the Astors, who he thought of as extended family.

Christmas and New Year came and went, and then winter melted to spring and Jack and Laura were overjoyed to announce something wonderful had happened: Laura was pregnant with baby number six.

“And this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't helped us out, we never would have had any more kids,” Jack had told Dukken as he hugged him tightly.

And Dukken had smiled at Kelly as she smiled back, thinking how their lives had changed for the better, and how good things were still happening because of it. By now, Jack was able to walk a little further and didn't need the wheelchair any more unless he was going long distance or standing for long periods of time. That was as good as it was going to get, but he was happy to be partially recovered and to know he was going to be a father again. He often accessed that side gate Dukken had thoughtfully put in the fence, so he could take a short cut to the house to visit Kelly. He was still thrilled at the thought that he could visit Sis any time he wanted to. By now Dukken and Kelly were engaged, and planning a summer wedding. They kept it quiet, because, just like he handled his fame as an artist by rarely giving interviews and keeping away from publicity, shy Dukken also wanted their wedding day to be quiet, too.

It was Jack who went with Kelly to choose her wedding dress. And as they had approached the store assistant, Kelly had said, “ _We would like to see the close fitting gowns, three quarter length, we don't want anything too over the top, something classy...”_

“It's for me!” Jack had added, glancing to Kelly, “Do you think they have my size, Sis?”

And Kelly had started laugh.

“Can I try _that_ one on?” Jack had asked, pointing to a dress in the window that clung to a petite, very skinny mannequin as the bewildered shop assistant looked at tall, heavy built Jack in absolute confusion.

“I really don't think that's your size, sir!” said the assistant.

“He's kidding!” Kelly said with a giggle, “Its okay, you'll get used to us... we're just a little bit crazy!”

“Always have been!” Jack added brightly as he put an arm around her shoulder, and then they had spent several hilarious hours in the store as Kelly tried on dresses and Jack took a seat while he waited. Eventually she found the one she wanted, it was off white and a mix of silk and lace, and it was sleeveless and fell just below her knees.

“You will be a stunning bride,” Jack told her as Kelly looked at her reflection in the mirror, joy shining in her gaze as she admired her dress, and knew Dukken would love her in it, too...

A few days later, Dukken had finished working a few hours in the studio at the back of the house and gone through to the bedroom, where he stopped, looking on in alarm a Kelly finished loading up a handgun and then put it away in a box that she placed on the top shelf in the wardrobe.

She saw him reflected in the mirror, standing there in his usual black clothing, his eye make up slightly smudged by sweat from the warming sun shining through the studio as he had worked, and now he was staring at her, then to the box, then back at her as she turned from the wardrobe.

“What's the matter?” she asked.

He went over to join her, glanced again at the box, then he looked into her eyes.

“I didn't know you still had a gun. I _hate_ guns, Kelly!”

“And if you'd seen what I've seen in all my years as a cop, you'd get why I now have a weapon for home protection.”

He gave a small shrug.

“I just think, if you look at Jack and what a bullet did to him, it really brings home the damage guns can cause.”

She put her arms around his waist and pulled him closer.

“I have seen much worse,” she assured him, “Me and Jack have both seen some terrible sights and if it makes you feel any better, Jack also keeps a gun at home. It's not just me. When you've been a cop, you can't forget what can happen in the worst of situations. I get it, guns make you uneasy. And actually, I think they should only be carried by people such as, law enforcement. But I _was_ law enforcement. And you're a wealthy man and we live in a quiet place, and as much as you keep away from publicity, we could still be targeted by thieves or kidnappers or worse. It's there, it's out of sight and it's loaded. If I ever need to use it, I won't hesitate if our lives are in danger. Maybe you should learn how to use it too. I could teach you -”

“No, Kelly,” Dukken said, shaking his head, “No way. I really don't like guns and I'll never touch it.”

“And you don't have to,” Kelly assured him, “But it is there for my peace of mind.”

Then she pulled him close and hugged him as Dukken looked up at the box, then turned away from it, not wanting to think about that weapon. Just knowing it was in the house made him uneasy, but as Kelly had said, she used to be a cop. And if she wanted to keep that thing in the house, as long as it was out of sight, he wasn't going to say more on the subject...

_Time rolled by._

They married and got on with life.

Kelly's health stayed good.

By now Jack and Laura had welcomed baby number six, a daughter who looked a lot like her mother. The other kids were all doing well, too.

Dukken's next exhibition went down a storm.

He was a multi millionaire by now.

Their lives were happy, and stayed that way as time went on.

_And by the time trouble was ready to head their way, that box containing the gun would have sixteen years of dust covering its lid..._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**The Present, Sixteen Years Later:**

The doors to the gallery were wide open. There was salt on the early summer breeze and it whipped at the ends of her fair, shoulder length hair as the young woman dressed in black with goth make up that looked a lot like Dukken's used to, walked beside Mandy, listening as she spoke to handful of selected media representatives about the artist's work. They walked into a wide room filled with photographs of scars. Some were of models, but there were new ones of his own and Kelly's scars, separate and together, but this time there was a large set of images, many of them running down three columns beside their close ups – their scars over a ten year period, and how their skin had faded the lines and where the cuts were deepest, had became more noticeable. Mandy had finished speaking.

“I'll now hand you over to Dukken's assistant,” she said, “No photographs, please – images are available online on the gallery website and there will be more to view in person on opening night...”

Then she smiled at the woman dressed in black whose eyes were lined with black eyeliner, and had more on her cheek in the shape of a small upside down cross. The girl began to speak, looking straight down the centre of the gathered press instead of into their eyes as she spoke a well rehearsed speech:

“ _Good afternoon, my name is Faith. I am Dukken's assistant for the summer period and will be assisting with the exhibition. Hidden Beauty is about the ugly made extraordinary, about the strength and the beauty of the damage we all suffer as we go through life. There are two main galleries, one is photographic, the other is for paintings and Dukken's oil paintings will not be here until opening night. But feel free to look around this gallery, and take away whatever feelings his work inspires and write your articles. Any questions?”_

A reporter spoke up.

“Will Full Circle be for sale?” she asked.

Faith hesitated, briefly glancing at a framed image that was valued at millions, and had been for many years. _That one was almost as famous as the image he had taken of his and Kelly's scars all those years before..._

“No,” she replied, “Dukken is not planning to sell the original. But there are various sized prints that will be available online, after the exhibition opens for the summer. All other works in this collection will be open to offers.”

“What's Dukken's second name?” asked another journalist.

Faith smiled.

“He is an artist who wishes only to be known as Dukken. But I am allowed to tell you he is of Dutch descent.”

“Will he be making an appearance on opening night?” asked another reporter.

“ _Dukken is a shy person who prefers to stay out of the limelight. He's not anonymous, but he is very selective about the rare interviews he chooses to give. He may or may not be here for the opening night, he's yet to decide.”_

As she said that, she looked the doorway, where beyond, there was a big poster, Dukken with half his face in shadow, looking directly into the camera.

“ _He's secretive,”_ she added, _“Even I don't know if he's showing up.”_

She and Mandy exchanged a glance, then Mandy handed her an old fashioned cassette recorder, and she placed it on an empty plinth beside her.

“I shall leave the rest to be said by the great man himself,” she added, and she pressed play.

As the tape started on full volume, Dukken's voice filled the room:

“ _Welcome to the first viewing of fifty percent of my new collection. The rest will be available on opening night. I'm also including – for viewing only – three original works previously seen, that are not for sale at this time. Full Circle, Union and Defiance are only available to purchase online as printed copies. All other works are open to realistic offers, do not try to contact me about this, contact the gallery only. I would like to add that many years ago, I set out as an artist to explore the beauty in the damage life brings us, visible through scars and the marks left on our bodies. Even now I am surprised at how much my work is appreciated, and I truly appreciate the love shown for it. I think pain and overcoming it is one of the threads that connect us all in life. Living is a harsh experience, but it also has beautiful moments, even in the midst of pain and damage. There is no creation or evolution of existence without suffering - and scars, like roads, can lead to amazing places. Take a look around you, see the beauty that shouts to be heard through the graphic and the exposed. Also see the sensuality of love and desire, in its raw form. Some of my images embrace the essence of desire, others the defiance of_ _the odds to live with passion for life despite the damage. I've sometimes been told my images of scarring are unsettling. But like life itself, the truth is, there are times when none of us can truly look away from the fabric of reality. Walk the halls, enjoy my work...And don't look away. Let the work speak to you.”_

The recording ended.

“Please take your time to enjoy the gallery,” said Faith, and then she picked up the tape recorder and walked out as Mandy followed, leaving the press to wander the gallery and take in the images created by the artist only known as Dukken.

Mandy and Faith walked down a corridor, passing another of Dukken's images:

_Defiance was a photograph several years old, and it showed two people in bed, post orgasm, the woman's head was bowed and half hidden by her hair as she rested it on the chest of her husband, who had looked up at the camera as he held her, turning his head as his glazed eyes met with the lens. The picture had been enlarged, showing only his head and shoulders and her on his chest as they lay in crumpled sheets. And it also showed the ragged scar on the side of his head, a legacy of the shooting back when he had been a cop. Jack had the side of his head shaved close for the picture so the scar from the bullet wound was visible, and apparently the story behind it was, Jack had been partially paralysed after the shooting, but determined to get his sex life back. And obviously he had, because three months before that picture had been taken, he and Laura had conceived baby number six._

_Faith had giggled and said, “Oh my god. You were in the room while they did it?”_

_Dukken had laughed as he shook his head, blushing at the thought._

“ _No, it wasn't like that!”_

_And then Jack and Kelly had laughed as Kelly shook her head._

“ _It was not like that, Faith!”_

“ _So what happened?” Faith had asked as they sat together in Jack and Laura's garden one afternoon as food cooked on the barbecue._

“ _All I will say is this,” Jack replied as he got up and grabbed his cane and made his way stiffly over to the grill to flip the burgers, “I told him, wait out side... you'll know when it's over!”_

_Kelly laughed as she recalled that day._

“ _I waited at home.”_

“ _And you, Dukken, waited for the ground to stop shaking and the fireworks to fade from the skies!” Jack said playfully._

“ _I just waited for the bed to stop creaking, the usual stuff,” Dukken said as he laughed again._

_Faith shook her head._

“ _Eww...” she remarked with a giggle._

_Kelly sipped her iced drink and put it down._

“ _Why don't we tell you all about how Full Circle was made?”_

“ _I do not want to hear about that piece!” Faith said, smiling as she shook her head, “But I do love Union...”_

_Dukken and Kelly had looked at each other for moment, recalling the day she had laid in his arms, his hand on her scar as hers rested on his, the first picture of their bodies together, hands and scars touching, and both wearing wedding rings._

“ _We took that one three weeks after we got married,” Dukken said with a smile..._

As she recalled this, Faith stood by the image named Defiance and turned to Mandy.

“Has he ever talked to you about years ago, when that crazy serial killer attacked him?”

“No,” Mandy replied, “I don't think he will ever talk about it, Faith.”

“I know he said to me, if I wanted to do this, I had to refuse any questions about Melanie Crow.”

“The press know by now not to ask,” Mandy replied as they headed back towards her office, “He's always said he wants to be known for his work, not for being Crow's only surviving victim. Stuff came out about that in the press years ago, and he was very upset about it. He never wants her to have any kind of fame for what she did, for his sake and the victims who died – she probably wants notoriety.”

“And she deserves nothing!” Faith agreed, then they sat together in the office as Mandy poured some coffee and they waited for the press to finish looking around the exhibition. Mandy would soon be leading the press out of the building, then she would be driving Faith back to the bungalow where Dukken and Kelly still lived next door to Jack and his family.

Faith's phone buzzed. She checked the message.

“I have emails to answer when I get back!” she said excitedly.

Mandy smiled as she looked at Faith.

“You're really enjoying this, being his assistant.”

“Of course I am, I'm his greatest fan!” Faith exclaimed.

Dukken was at home working in the glass studio. He sat before a painting made of light and darkness, an image was taking shape of a pathway of light leading to melting snow and treetops in springtime sun, the pathway was made of flesh and leaking blood but started to heal as it stretched towards the light _. Out of the darkness and into the light, back to life and free from pain._ He often put his past trauma into his paintings, but never publicly elaborated on it. He was recalling how he had woken on that spring day to see Kelly at his bedside, and confused from a dream of snow and coldness mixed in with bleeding out on the floor after the stabbing, he had said, _Where's the snow gone?_ She had replied, _It melted..._

That was the day they had first met.

A day that had reminded him he was out of the cold and away from the pain and now healing, and the world was light and warm once more... Nightmares were rare these days.

Time had moved on a lot.

Jack's kids were grown up now. Only his two youngest and one of the twin boys still lived at home, and these days the garden was usually quiet, but all the same, he had his ear buds in and the volume up as the opening chords of _Enter the Sandman_ began to play and his silver rings caught the light as he pushed fingertips into oil paint and made slow streaks in the place on the canvas where light and dark merged. He sat back and looked at the unfinished piece as satisfaction shone in his gaze. He knew when it felt right, and this painting was almost done...He paused to clean his hands, then as Kelly entered the room, he turned off the music and took out his ear buds. He got up and smiled as she walked into his open arms, and he held her fondly.

“It's almost done,” he told her.

She glanced at the painting, recalling the significance of the work. _The day we first met,_ he had said, _that's what this piece is about, the day light had come back into my life to stay..._

As Kelly looked at him, the thought ran through her mind that Dukken had changed very little in the sixteen years that had passed. He was forty-one now. He still looked good, not a day over thirty five. He still wore his black jeans and hooded tops, he liked his black and grey t shirts too, but these days, he only wore a dash of eyeliner if he was dressed for a rare gallery appearance or an interview. He still had the same short blonde hair, and still loved all things goth. These days when he made a public appearance, his image had changed a little, he wore dark suits in rich fabrics, always in shades of black that looked distinctly Gothic in the classical sense and Kelly had said, there was something very _sexy vampire_ about his image now.

“ _I was dressing like a teen when I was twenty five,” Dukken had said as amusement danced in his gaze, “I think this new look is the grown up me. This is Dukken the responsible, successful artist. ”_

“ _This is the vampire you,” she had whispered as he took her in his arms and then she had shrieked as he had pushed her on to the bed, playfully pretending to bite her neck..._

He still wore his silver rings, and of course, the gold wedding band that matched hers. Dukken had earned a massive fortune from his art, too – but he still had the same car he had first bought after the sale of his first picture. He had never been the type to splash out his money to pointlessly make a statement about wealth. The only statements he wanted to make were dictated by his inspiration.

And Kelly knew she had greatly inspired many of his most famous works. She used to fear life itself and not dare to think about the future in case she didn't have one – but loving Dukken and sharing a life with him had changed all that.

They had a motto now:

_Live without fear._

Just thinking about how that had come about made her smile:

They had done so much over the years, breaking through barriers and killing triggers from their traumas together.

Dukken had overcome his fear of knives by asking her to tuck a sharp kitchen knife into the waistband of her panties and every night, she would stand in the doorway, for good measure, wearing see through lingerie and a pair of sparkly horns left over from a Halloween costume. They did it every night for a week, as she turned on soft music and danced as he called her all manner of erotic and darkly empting names, like seductress and hot demoness, then after progressing closer into the room every night, on day seven she had cut off his underwear and sat on his cock as they slowly rode to a mutually satisfying climax as he kissed her and held her and they shared their promises between _I love yous_ :

_Live for now._

_Live without fear._

_The future is what we make it..._

Dukken had picked up the knife, seen it for what it was, it was for cutting and slicing food in the kitchen. _It was not a weapon. It was just a knife._ He had put it back in the kitchen, a fear destroyed by passion.

One of Kelly's biggest fears had been banished the first summer they were at the house, when her hair extensions had started growing out and she had said she actually missed it being short because there was a heatwave, but she was afraid to stop wearing the extensions, because she was scared she might not stay well long enough to grow her own hair. Dukken had said, _If you want to do it, have it short. Cut it off and grow it out, three years from now it will be long and all your own..._ She had looked at him and he had grasped her hands.

“No fear,” he reminded her, and she had started to smile and so did he.

“Do I need to remind you of what we can do together?” he asked her, and joy shone in her eyes.

“We can do anything, no fear!” she agreed, “Fear belongs in the past. Let's do this!”

They had all been in the garden together at the time. She had asked Jack to cut out her extensions. Then she had changed her mind, and asked him to give her a one inch buzz cut that she had not regretted as she grabbed the hose and sprinkled cold water over her short cropped hair, laughing as she finally escaped the heat of the sun....

Their life together had been good, and it still was.

It was better than good, it was fantastic...

Her health had stayed good. She now had long hair to her shoulders – all her own – and had done for many years. Kelly sometimes covered up the few grey hairs that showed through with dye. But aside from a few lines on her face, she was in good shape for fifty six. She ran on the beach three times a week when the weather was warm. And their sex life had always stayed great. They had never fallen out of love, not once in all the years they had been together. They were lucky, they had a life of comfort and togetherness, and those they loved the most were next door, too...

Dukken's art had stayed brilliant and always strong and full of emotional impact. He had even used his work to lay the past to rest, taking a picture of the hospital room where he had spent months recovering after the stabbing. He had taken the image in springtime, catching sunlight on treetops from the view outside the window.

_But he never touched on the Melanie Crow case._

_He wanted that chapter in his life to gather dust and be forgotten._

The years had been good to Kelly and Dukken in every way, and she was still reflecting on that as she looked again at the unfinished painting.

“I know what this is.”

“It's another _I love you_ ,” he said softly.

She smiled as he pulled her close and they shared a kiss in the middle of the studio as the scent of the oil paints rose around them.

“ _Eww! Get a room, guys!”_

They pulled back from what had been a passionate kiss and both laughed softly as they looked around at Faith, who stood there in the doorway dressed in black.

“How did the press like my work?” he asked.

“They loved it!” Faith exclaimed, “And now, if you can keep your paws off each other for five minutes, I'll go and do my job and check the emails...”

Faith hurried over to the corner of the room, where a desk and laptop had been set up to handle Dukken's personal correspondence.

“You've got another invite from the London gallery,” she said, “And there's some messages from a few local papers - but no one that we invited today.”

“I'll talk to the gallery another time, as for the other papers, ignore them,” Dukken told her as Kelly left the room to fetch some iced tea, then as he began to tidy his workspace he suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, by they way... if there's an email from a _Mr Next Big Sensation_ , DON'T open it!”

She glanced over, looking at him with interest.

“Why? Is he a famous artist that wants to collaborate with you on a project?”

Dukken chuckled at the thought.

“No, he's definitely not!” he said.

“Who is he?” Faith wondered as she clicked on the email.

She opened up a picture, then tilted her head slightly.

“What the hell has he sent you... _Ewww! Gross, that's a pair of balls!_ ”

Dukken went over to the desk and picked up the laptop, just as Kelly returned to the room.

“What's gross?” she asked.

Dukken swung the screen around. Kelly laughed.

“ _Oh no, not Mr Nutsack again!”_

Dukken put him on the block list and placed the laptop back on the table.

“He keeps changing his email! Don't open anything with _next big_ in the address, Faith! He's a weirdo who sends me badly taken pictures of his nut sack every time I have an exhibition due, asking if his art is as good as mine!”

“All he ever does is bad shots of his balls!” Kelly said as she laughed again.

Faith shook her head as she smirked.

“That is _so_ gross!”

“He used to send me more than just his nuts!” Dukken exclaimed, shaking his head, and Faith looked at Kelly, who giggled.

“It's true! The guy doesn't seem to understand the difference between a bad porn shot and art!”

“Is there anyone else I need to watch out for?” Faith asked as she checked the inbox again.

“No, you're safe,” Dukken assured her, “But if you're ever at the gallery and anyone asks for my email, don't give them any of my contact details, even this one I use for art correspondence. There's all kinds of weirdos out there, Faith.”

Then he looked to the drying canvas as Kelly did the same and she remembered something they had talked about earlier.

“Are you going to allow her to leave her mark on it?”

“Why not?” Dukken agreed, then they both looked at Faith.

“Can I really?” she asked.

Dukken smiled as he beckoned to her and indicated to a pitch dark corner of the canvas.

“Go on, put a little line in it with your fingertip.”

She went over to the painting, looking from Dukken to Kelly in wonder.

“I though this is worth a fortune.”

“And it will still be worth the same, and no one will ever know! Go ahead, be a part of the art!”

Her face lit up in a bright smile.

“Oh wow, thanks!” she said, and she carefully ran a light fingertip down the dark corner, leaving another line traced into the dark part of the picture.

“I'm a part of this?”

“Yes,” Kelly told her, “Of course you are!”

Gratitude shone in her gaze.

“I'll never forget this,” she said fondly.

Dukken put an arm around his wife as they exchanged a glance and a smile.

“That's what life is all about,” he told Faith, “Making great memories.”

Then they left Faith to finish up with the emails while they went outside together to sit in the garden and watch the sun slowly sink on what had been a very successful day for his work.

“What are you planning to do on the opening night of the exhibition?” asked Kelly as they sat together in the garden, side by side on a swing seat with a canopy that kept off the heat of the day.

Dukken looked down the long garden to where the sounds of the sea carried beyond the fence.

“I would rather be down the beach until it gets dark than go to the exhibition. You know I hate crowds and everyone looking at me because I'm the guy who made the pictures!”

“But they love you, Dukken,” Kelly reminded him, “I get it, I know you hate being the centre of attention – but they love your work and they want to meet the guy who created it...” she turned her head, meeting his gaze.

“Please? Will you go to the opening night, just for an hour? I'll come with you – and I know Faith will want to be there, dressed up like you with your make up on, I know she will be busy talking to visitors, between her and Mandy I think they will secure most of your sales! You won't be alone, Dukken.”

He paused for thought.

“Maybe. I'm not saying anything is definite, not yet. I might show up for an hour – but no longer! I hate publicity.”

Kelly rested her head on his shoulder as her hand closed over his.

“But think how much it will mean to the people who love your work, who dream of meeting Dukken the great artist! I think you'll make a few dreams come true if you show up on opening night.”

He gave a sigh.

“Okay, just for you, I'll show up for an hour. Then I'm gone, Kelly, I'm out the back door!”

She giggled.

“The famous artist makes his escape, yet again! You do it _every_ time!”

Fondness shone in her gaze as their eyes met and she placed her hand softly on his cheek.

“Just stay a little longer this time, meet the people who love your work! Some of them will end up buying it, too.”

He smiled as his face flushed at the thought of just how much money his creations sold for. He had never set out hungering for fame and fortune – he had always made his work purely for love of creating, and his inspiration was always his guide. He had never imagined he would ever make this much money from his works. It still surprised him, on the rare occasions people had the chance to approach him in a gallery and tell him how great he was...

“I'll stay for a while – not the whole evening! And I don't want any pictures, either. I'll do this for you, Kelly, and then we're going home!”

“Okay, that sounds good,” Kelly replied and she leaned closer as they shared a kiss.

The gate set into the fence opened up and Jack walked through leaning on his cane. He was still decidedly chubby, and the years had shot grey through hair that was slightly longer now, and he was wearing a frilled shirt and had just raised an eye patch from his partially sighted eye after climbing down from the mini replica pirate ship that had sat at the back of his garden for the past ten years, after having a sword fight with his fifteen year old daughter and sixteen year old son, just for the hell of it, because they still liked to play like they did n the old days.

“Jack Junior got the treasure!” he announced with a chuckled, “But I always let JJ win. Sarah was more busy with the camera Instagraming _pirate fight with dad, fun in garden, summer games_ and all with her _many_ hashtags! How did the press like your new stuff today?”

“Faith said they loved it!” Dukken told him, and he smiled on hearing that then went over to the swing seat and Dukken got up and he sat in his place, put an arm around Kelly and gave her a brief hug.

“On days like this, I still think, it's a good life, Sis!”

“It is,” Kelly agreed with a smile as she looked at her best friend, “Where's Laura?”

“She's gone into town to visit our eldest daughter, she's back later. She might be bringing the baby over tomorrow morning.”

“I'll stop by!” Faith said as she came into the garden to join them, “I love spending time with little Samantha.”

Jack smiled proudly.

“I have six kids and only one of them has decided to make me feel old by giving me a grandchild,” he chuckled, “Yes, do come over, Sammy adores you, Faith. I'll be busy with my daughter, I said I'd be working in the garden and she wants to help. You can look after Samantha.”

Just then a sound carried through the house, drifting out through the open door and reaching the patio. Dukken had just reached for a bottle of beer that had been sitting in ice, and as Jack did the same, he glanced at Kelly and then back at Dukken.

“I didn't know you had visitors.”

“I wasn't planning on any,” Dukken replied.

“I'll go,” Kelly said, “You guys enjoy the beer and sunset... and leave a bottle for me!”

“Nah, I'm going it drink it all,” Dukken joked as she shot him a playful warning look and he laughed.

“It's here waiting for you, Kelly,” he assured her, and then as she went back inside, the caller rung the bell again.

By the time she had reached the door, the bell had rung for a third time...

Kelly opened up the door and recognised the caller, someone she had not seen for a while. She smiled as her ex boss flashed her ID, said her name and then asked for Dukken, and then her smile faded: _Kelly had served enough years as a cop to know this was no social visit..._

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

In that moment before Sandra spoke, too many possibilities ran through Kelly's mind: _Maybe an old colleague had been killed in the line of duty... what else could it be? No one around here had broken any law and certainly, there was no reason for Homicide to come all the way out here..._

“Can I come in?” Sandra asked.

Kelly nodded, stepping back as she said Dukken was in the garden, and she led the way through the house as Sandra stayed unusually quiet. Over the years she had stopped by now and then, usually in summer, and it had always been social calls, happy times... but today she was silent. Kelly knew what this meant, there was bad news coming and for Sandra to come all the way out here to break that news, it had to be something major. Kelly was still thinking about the people she used to work with, her heart aching at the thought that she was about to break news of a death, or maybe this was linked to an old case that had reopened and she wanted her advice on it... perhaps that was it, so not a death then, she hoped...

Kelly led Sandra through the front room and out to the patio. By now Faith had dashed off, leaving by the gate that led to the sea, because she had picked up her sketch pad and was ready to spend the rest of the evening sketching the sea and the coastline and birds in flight. Jack had opened up a bottle of beer and swigged from it just as Dukken had set his own on the table. They both looked surprised to see Sandra standing there. And she looked worried and so did Kelly, and both men instantly exchanged a glance, knowing this was serious.

“Sandra?” Dukken said as he rose from his seat, “Good to see you... is something up?”

She looked from Kelly to Dukken, hating to be the one to break the news, but she certainly had no plans when she got the call to send Fiona out here...It was best said coming from her.

“I'm really sorry but there's no easy way to say this,” Sandra told them, “But last night, Melanie Crow escaped from a high security psychiatric facility. She stabbed a nurse and two guards. CCTV has a possible sighting of her boarding a subway train and it was heading into the city, the opposite direction to the coast, so we can assume she's not headed your way. And it's only a matter of time before we pick her up. But I had to let you know, just in case there was a risk. She's thirty five years old and in all the time she's been locked up, she's been a model prisoner except for her liking for collecting and making creepy dolls. They're nothing like the effigies she made of her victims, they're rag dolls with button eyes. She's only allowed to make them because she gives them to the local orphanage. This violence from her was actually a shock. It seems she's been planning it for a while. There's no doubt in my mind she's still dangerous but as I said, we believe she's not heading this way. But I will be posting squad cars outside your house, and a patrol around the back, purely for your peace of mind.”

Dukken's face had paled as he looked at Kelly, who glanced at him, then to Jack.

“You're certain she's not heading this way?” Kelly said in a hushed voice.

“It looks that way so far,” was all Sandra could say to reassure her.

“Oh jeez, I thought that case was buried and finished with!” Jack exclaimed.

“As I said Jack, as far as we know, she's _not_ planning to head this way. But you both know how she worked, and Dukken -”

In that moment as she turned to him as her mix of ebony and grey hair was ruffled by the sea breeze, every line on Sandra's face seemed deeper.

“It looks as if there's no current threat to you – but you are her only surviving victim and we just want to make sure you're covered and secure. And you might want to reschedule the opening night of your exhibition.”

Dukken paused for thought.

“No,” he said, “That won't be necessary. Security at the gallery will be tight, these works are worth millions. I'll be safe at the gallery.”

“And I have a gun at home for protection,” Jack added.

“You'll have cops guarding your place too,” Sandra assured her, “Purely because you're next door, and you were the other cop who solved the case. But with her miles away I really don't think there's too much cause for concern. It's just a precaution.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Kelly added quietly, thinking about her own loaded weapon.

Dukken gave a heavy sigh.

“And this will be all over the news? The Doll maker case, right now, when I'm about to open a brand new exhibition?”

“We're putting it out that a serial killer has escaped and is highly dangerous, we won't be mentioning the case or the details, just her picture. It's thought she will be picked up in the next few days and if not, she could have skipped the state and be trying to start a new life somewhere else. That means the search will shift to other states too, I doubt she would go all the way into the city and then travel all the way out again to find you, but we have to cover all options no matter how remote.”

“We needed to know,” Kelly said quietly as she recalled the terrible case she and Jack would never forget, and the wounds left on Dukken's body from the stabbing. She also remembered the gun was loaded and in a dusty old box in the bedroom, she would have to take that box down later and check the weapon, just for peace of mind. And when they went to the gallery for the opening night, the gun would be with her, concealed, just in case the worst happened...

Sandra said if there were any developments they would be the first to know, and then Kelly walked her to the door.

Back in the garden, Jack was still sitting on the chair as Dukken stood there on the patio, looking to the end of the garden, his thoughts far from this great life he and Kelly had shared for the past sixteen years.

“It'll be okay,” Jack said, leaning on the chair as he got up and reached for his cane, “Don't worry, Dukken – she's been locked up all these years, and as crazy as she is, it's more than likely she's on the run and trying to stay hidden. She won't want to be locked up again. She'll probably lie low for a while, then try and put some kind of life together, and that's when she'll be spotted and the cops will pick her up,” he placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It's going to be fine,” he assured him.

Dukken met his gaze with a haunted look in his hazel eyes.

“I hope you're right.” he replied quietly, as in his mind, the past came rushing back to haunt him as if a cold, dark shadow had just descended on their lives. He had never thought this could happen and now it had, he felt as if his old scars were tight and painful all over again as he recalled her face as a twisted mask of rage as she plunged the knife into his body.. _._

_But now he wasn't just thinking of his own safety. He had those he loved to fear for, too..._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The sea was rolling to shore in the distance, turning sand and water at the shore line as it had since time began, the soft sound it made was matched in tranquillity by the birds that flew over head, on their way out to dip and weave pure white against a deep blue sky as the setting sun shone golden. As a gull flew over low, casting its shadow on the ground as it swept by, Faith dropped her pencil and sketch pad, laughing as she threw her arm wide, imitating the bird as she ran forward, flapped pretend wings and then spun around, straight into the arms of tall and heavy built JJ, whose dark hair was ruffled by the breeze as he laughed.

“ _Gotcha, birdy!”_

She giggled, then as she turned around he pulled her close and they shared a kiss that tasted of the salt on the air.

“I'm here to draw today!” she reminded him.

Then she sat down at the edge of the beach where the path met with sand as Jack's son sat beside her.

“And how is life going, as Dukken's assistant?”

“Great!” she replied, opening up the sketch pad and then grabbing a pencil. She turned her head as the breeze whipped at her fair hair, “Apparently I can draw. I'm told I have talent. I so want to see my work in an exhibition one day!”

“I think Dukken will help with that.”

“I know he will too,” she smiled, “It was so exciting today, meeting with the press and playing the tape...I can't wait for opening night!”

“Wish I was coming with you.”

“Maybe you can come along next week, when the big night is over with,” she replied, “And speaking of opening night...” she leaned closer, locking her gaze with his as he started to smile, “I think I can sneak around the back way to see you after the exhibition. It will be late, no one will know.”

He drew back, looking to the distant shore line as he paused for thought.

“I know you're doing all this work for the exhibition all summer, but why don't we just tell them about us?”

“Not yet,” she replied, “Wait till summer's over, I'm supposed to be one hundred percent working on this. Let's just keep you and me quiet for now.”

He gave a sigh.

“Okay, if it makes you happy.”

Just then they were joined by JJ's sister Sarah. She walked towards them, willowy like her mother with dark hair to her shoulders, wearing a summer dress the same shade as the sand.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked as she sat down and joined them.

“No, I was just telling JJ about the press seeing the exhibits,” Faith told her, “It went down a storm, as usual!”

And then as JJ and his sister spoke about the exhibition, as the sun sank lower, Faith said nothing more as she began to stroke the pencil in velvet soft lines, sketching a bird in flight casting a shadow below on the sand.

Back at the house, as Faith, unaware of the potential threat, drew a shadowy bird ominous on the sand as she sketched by sunset, a different kind of shadow had cast over the gathering in the garden now Sandra had left.

They sat together, Dukken had set his drink aside as Jack did the same. Kelly was next to Dukken on the sawing seat, and he had fallen silent.

“Guys,” said Jack, “I really think it's going to be okay. She wasn't headed this way. She's been incarcerated for sixteen years, she's more likely to run than to come after any of us.”

Kelly looked over at Jack, recalling the details of the Dollmaker case.

“But she made the dolls and once completed, she killed the victims,” she reminded him, “She might feel there's unfinished business here. It might not even be about coming after the cops who busted her – if she did come back.”

“ _Nice to know I'm her unfinished business!”_

Dukken reached for his beer as Kelly looked at him apologetically.

“No, I didn't mean it like that! I was just saying, _if_. And it's a big _if,_ Jack's right, she's not likely to come after any of us. She's wanted, she's on the run.”

Jack looked slowly towards Kelly.

“I hate to say this, but a motive - especially a crazy one - can be a powerful thing. We do need to be mindful of that, even though the possibility is remote.”

Dukken ran his fingers through his hair, deep in thought as he said nothing for a moment.

“Maybe Faith should go and stay with one of your older kids, Jack, just for a while – your eldest daughter has a spare room at her place.”

“I can't see her wanting to leave,” Kelly reminded him.

“And we have to keep her safe!” Dukken said firmly.

Kelly shook her head.

“You know her as well as I do. Faith won't want to go anywhere, Dukken.”

“I don't want to talk about this any more,” Dukken said, looking from Kelly to Jack, “Sandra said we'll have cops outside soon, we're safe. And Melanie's not likely to be heading this way. It's just a precaution. We'll probably get a call tomorrow or the next day to say she's been picked up and she's locked away again.”

“We need to tell Faith when she gets back from the beach,” Kelly reminded him.

Dukken nodded, feeling a sinking sense of dread as cold as that floor he had slid to in a pool of his own blood sixteen years before. He had never expected this to happen, but now it had, they just had to handle it the best way they could...

JJ and his sister had headed back to the house by now as JJ talked about dinner and his sister laughed and said, _All you do is eat, just like Dad!_

As she finished shading the sunset sky, from where she sat on the sand, Faith had smiled on hearing that remark. It was true, JJ was a heavy built guy, just like his Dad Jack, and he did love his food. And she was crazy about him, she couldn't wait to see him after the exhibition. But work had to come first...

She was putting more shading into the shadow of the bird in flight when someone called to her.

“ _Hey!”_

She closed the sketch pad and looked up to see a woman making her way along the sand, she wore a short dark dress that fell to her knees in a shade of dark blue, and her hair was sleek and jet black, her fringe framing eyes that were covered by sunglasses with dark lenses. Faith gathered up her pad and stood up.

“Hi,” the woman said, “I was wondering, which way is it from here to the gallery? I wanted to see if the new Dukken exhibition is open yet.”

“It's not open until Friday night and that's only for selected viewing, mainly buyers and people from the art world,” she told her, “Are you a collector?”

The sea rushed to shore in the distance as the woman looked at her though the dark glasses and smiled.

“I've been known to collect things,” she replied, “But I don't think I'd get an invite for the big opening night. I'm a huge fan of Dukken. He's a fascinating artist. Did you know his name is Dutch?”

Faith smiled as she nodded.

“Yes, I do.”

“It means doll,” the woman added.

“I don't know a lot of Dutch myself,” Faith replied.

“I'm Emily,” the woman added with a smile, “And I'm really looking forward to seeing Dukken's new work. I'm staying in town just to catch the exhibition. I think his work is stunning. So raw and honest. What's your name?”

“Faith,” she replied.

“ _Geloof,”_ Emily told her, “That's Dutch, meaning Faith.”

“I'm working at the exhibition,” Faith added, “On opening night. I may be working there the week after too, if I am, maybe I'll see you there.”

Emily smiled warmly.

“That must be so cool! Do you actually know Dukken?”

“Very well,” she said proudly.

“It must be great to work with him!” Emily said excitedly, “Any way, I should be heading back. I'll see you around, probably sooner than you think.”

She turned to walk away, then she remembered something and she turned back.

“By the way Faith, I've got another Dutch word for you,” Emily said with a smile, _“Leugenaar.”_

Then she turned around and walked off down the beach, heading back the way she came, towards a path that led towards a nearby road.

“I thought you wanted directions to the gallery -” Faith said, feeling confused, but the woman was gone now, she had walked off quickly.

“Lagoona?” she repeated, “Loogena? _Loo- what the fuck?_ I suck at languages!” she scribbled the word in the back of her sketch pad, then thought no more of it assuming, _lagoon_ – they were next the sea? Then she went up the slope and headed towards the grassy land that would eventually lead back to the house.

Now the beach was far behind and she had made it on to a quiet road, the woman who claimed her name was Emily took another narrow turning, taking the wooded country lanes as she headed back towards town where she was staying at a motel, and the heat of the sun was still too much, despite the breeze carried in cool and salty off the sea. She looked about the lane, saw no one, and grabbed hold of the long back wig, pulling it from her head as red hair cascaded down. She gave her head a shake, then briefly took off her dark glasses and wiped sweat from her face.

 _Disguises were way too uncomfortable at this time of year,_ thought Melanie Crow.

Then she carried on making her way up the quiet lane, strolling with the wig in her hand as the sea breeze cooled her damp skin. She would have to put the disguise back on when she reached the highway that led to town, but for now, she could be herself.

She thought about Dukken as ice reflected in her gaze:

_This had been a long time coming, and she wasn't leaving this town until she came here to finish what she failed to do sixteen years before._

_He had to die._

_She was already busy making plans._

_There was much work to do back at her motel room._

_Cutting and sewing and stuffing and dressing the effigy._

_She was making him a brand new doll..._

Jack had gone home to Laura and the kids to break the awful news about Melanie Crow's escape. He was relying on his many years now long past as a police detective to be able to break the news and still reassure them of their safety. He wanted to believe they were all safe, but he also knew he would be a fool to allow for any shadow of doubt to not creep in – at least, for him personally. Like Kelly, he had too many nasty cases he remembered from their time on the force, he knew some killers were pure evil. Not all murders were manslaughter or crimes of passion or carried out in the heat of the moment when rage was a factor:

_Some killers were cold and calculating._

_Some were deranged._

_Some stayed in that dark ooze of an oil slick of evil, that shadowy bubble where only their crazy thoughts drove them on, planning for the time when they would have another chance to kill, and they lived for that day to come for many years, day in day out dreaming about it even while they were locked in a cell._

_And that was Melanie Crow in a nutshell..._

While Jack was reassuring his family, Faith had returned to the house, confused to see Dukken and Kelly looked suddenly worried as they took her through to the front room and asked her to sit down.

“We need to talk to you,” Kelly said as she sat on the sofa with Dukken and Faith took a seat in the armchair.

“What have I done?” Faith exclaimed, “Did I do something wrong at the gallery? Did I say the wrong thing, did I put someone off a picture, or is this because I confirmed you're of Dutch descent and you like to stay secretive? Because I remember you said the Dutch thing was okay to mention -”

“Faith, it's not you,” Dukken cut in, “Honestly, you've done nothing wrong. Something has happened...”

He glanced at Kelly, who took up the rest.

“My old boss Sandra stopped by today. It was business, unfortunately. She was here to inform us that Melanie Crow has escaped from a psychiatric facility. But the good news is, they think they have a positive ID on her, she was taking a train heading into the city. Which puts her a long way from the coast.”

Faith's face had paled as she looked from Kelly to Dukken.

“You think she could turn up here?”

“Well no, probably not,” Kelly added, “But as an ex cop, I wouldn't want to rule anything out because you can never be sure how someone as dangerous as her could think. But logically, she's on the run and needs to hide. It's unlikely she would take a chance and try to travel all this way – and she was spotted going in the opposite direction. So we should be able to assume we are safe, but there's going to be patrol cars outside the house and cops around the back too, watching both properties until she's caught. If you want to go and stay with Jack's eldest daughter until this is over, you're welcome to do so.”

“I'm not leaving,” Faith said firmly, looking at Dukken, “I know what she did to you. I know you've never talked about it, and I don't blame you for that. I wouldn't want to remember something so horrible either, if it had happened to me. But I'm _not_ running away because she's on the loose. The cops will be watching the house. And you're an ex cop!” she said, looking to Kelly, “An ex cop with a gun, that's good enough for me!”

Kelly gave a sigh.

“I knew she wouldn't go,” Dukken reminded her softly, then he glanced at Faith.

“If you stay here while this is going on, you stay in the house or you only go to the beach with your friends, don't go anywhere alone. If you need to go into town, we will drive you there and wait for you. And no leaving the house at night.”

“But what if I want to -”

“No!” Dukken said firmly, “We have to stay safe, and we have to think about your safety too.”

Faith gave a sigh.

“Well this is going to be a _fun_ summer!”

“But the exhibition is going ahead,” he reminded her, “You can still work for me as we agreed and you will be coming with us to the opening night on Friday. I'm not at all concerned about the gallery – security is tight there anyway.”

Faith fell silent for a moment.

“Okay, I'll do this your way,” she said, silently guessing there would be a way around this to sneak next door to see Jack. If all else failed, they still had the beach...

“We're sorry about this,” Kelly added.

“Don't be,” Faith said with a fond smile, then she remembered the woman she met on the beach.

“I'm glad the exhibition is going ahead on time. I met a lady on the beach today who adores your work! She's only in town to see the exhibition!”

Dukken's thoughts were still on all Sandra had told him. But Kelly was thinking like a cop.

“What woman?”

“Long black hair, fancy blue dress with flowers on it, big sunglasses – she looks the type to haunt galleries! She said she was a fan. She was enthusiastic about the Dutch link, too.”

Dukken briefly smiled on hearing that. So many of his fans had showered love on to his work, because he worked with scars. People found it empowering to see scars as art works, because many people carried scars of their own...

“And she told me my name in Dutch but I can't recall it... and she said another word to me, I think it was lagoon...what's Dutch for lagoon?” she asked that question as she looked at Dukken.

As the son of Dutch born parents, he didn't have to think about the answer.

“ _Lagune.”_

She frowned.

“No, that wasn't it... maybe she meant, sea?”

He shrugged.

“That's _Zee_.” he said, and laughed at the confused expression on her face.

She checked her sketch pad.

“Lagoona. That's what I thought she said. Or lagoon. And we were at the beach.”

“Maybe she doesn't know as much Dutch as she thinks she does.”

“Maybe,” Faith agreed, then she grabbed her sketch pad and got up and left the room, ready to grab food from the kitchen before returning to her room where she would close the door and start texting the hot boy who lived next door.

Now Faith was gone from the room, Dukken glanced at his wife, keeping his voice low.

“When did you tell her you keep a gun in the house, Kelly? You know I hate that thing and I didn't want Faith to know about it!”

“Why not?” Kelly asked.

“In case it makes her nervous.”

Kelly gave a sigh as she took her husband's hand in her grip and looked into his eyes.

“It makes _you_ nervous. Not me and not Faith.”

He paused for thought as he realised something that had been obvious, but he had not thought about it until now.

“Why did that subject come up in the first place, Kelly?”

Kelly was silent for a moment, her eyes shaded by her lashes as she looked downward, then she shook her head and turned to him and looked into his eyes.

“She asked me about the past. Specifically, about what happened to you, with Melanie Crow. I told her she knows all she ever needs to know about it – she's read old news articles about the case. There's nothing I needed to add to that. And I told her, I keep a gun in the house, just to be sure we are safe. That's all there is to it, Dukken. I didn't go into detail.”

“Good,” he replied as he held on to her hand and gave a fond squeeze, “I never want to talk about what it was like. No one should ever know what it's like to be attacked by a maniac.”

“You're right about that,” Kelly agreed, “When I was a cop I saw things I wish I could unsee. It's better to leave the past alone sometimes.”

Understanding shone in his gaze.

“I just don't want her to get nightmares – my nightmares, about my past.”

She smiled as love shone in her gaze.

“She won't, she's strong. And you rarely have bad dreams these days, Dukken.”

“And I don't want them back!” he assured her.

Just then a car pulled up in the driveway. They got up and went to the window, feeling relieved to see a squad car was there outside, just as Sandra had promised.

“Now that is a reassuring sight,” Kelly said with a smile, and Dukken smiled too.

“And they don't need to be here - it's just a precaution.”

“That's right,” Kelly reminded him, “We're in no danger. She's miles away, and will probably stay that way, too.”

Far from the quiet place near the sea where Kelly and Dukken lived, Melanie Crow was in her motel room, the curtains were closed even though the sun was not yet sunk to dusk and the lamp was on in the sparely decorated room with its faded walls and carpet. She had locked the door and now as she stood before the mirror, the black wig and glasses had been cast aside. She had just stripped off her blue summer dress and put on a tight fitting black gown, and she turned sideways, admiring her shapely form as she gave a toss of her red hair, then she caught sight of him sat in a chair, reflected in the mirror:

_It was Dukken's doll._

He was finished now, and she had remade him just as he was sixteen years before, dressed in black with his face drawn on and the eyes lined dark. She turned from the mirror as in her imagination, Dukken the doll became real.

“You haven't changed,” Melanie said as a menacing flash came to her eyes and she walked barefoot on the carpet towards him.

Bands of silver duct tape held his arms to the chair, cutting tightly through the fabric of his black hooded top as she knelt before him, placing her hands on his knees.

“You're so quiet today,” she added, “Maybe that's a good thing....” she reached up, saw fear reflect in his eyes as she pushed a strand of hair from his brow, and then she got up and leaned in angrily.

“I bet you wish you could say a lot, Dukken!” she said darkly, looking to the tape across his mouth, “But you can't speak until I let you! I haven't forgotten what you said to me about the dead bird! You can't lie about death to make it better!”

She paused, thinking hard, then her eyes widened as she glared at him.

“It's necessary, Dukken. You wanted to be with me. And you still can be,” she laughed manically as she shook her head, “How did you survive what I did? That wasn't supposed to happen! You were supposed to die nice and quietly, I was supposed to keep the doll and....no, it didn't work out that way. Your doll wasn't good enough, I need to make another one, I was going to meet my new friend for dinner at his house and then come back and make you the best doll, a doll that you could live inside forever!”

Dukken looked at her terrified, clutching at the arm of the chair as she raised a sharp knife and traced its tip down the back of his hand.

“But you didn't wait for me. You held on to your soul and lived and you moved on from _me_ and you married that cop... What about the young girl? What about Faith? What is she to you? She seems to love your work, Dukken... I bet she'll love it even more when you're dead and in the doll and all mine and she can never see you again! And you _are_ mine, do you hear me?”

Dukken gave a muffled cry of pain as she drove the knife through the back of his hand.

Paper ripped, the tip of the blade cut through the padded armrest of the chair as she blinked - and there was no Dukken.

_He wasn't here._

_It was just the doll._

_The empty shell, waiting for his soul._

Melanie slashed angrily at the chair, then the knife clattered to the floor as she tore off the paper hand.

“ _Look what you made me do!”_ she ranted as she looked at the doll in Dukken's clothing, its drawn on face gagged by duct tape, _“Now I'll have to make you a new hand!”_

In her mind's eye, Dukken's eyes had taken on life, silently mocking her. She ripped the duct tape from the doll's mouth, as paper tore and the face hung off at an ugly angle.

“That's what you get,” Melanie said to the doll, “That's what happens when you upset me, Dukken...”

Back at the house, the sound of the sea carried distantly to shore as night fell.

Dukken and Kelly had decided to have an early night, and he was keen for a distraction from the vague threat that Melanie still posed even though he reasoned, she probably was miles away by now. Kelly had a smile on her face as she stood in the bedroom, back turned away from the bathroom door.

“I have no idea what this surprise is,” she called out as she took off her panties and kicked them aside, “But I'm ready for you, Dukken!”

And she was ready. She had stripped off her dress and her bra and now she was naked. He had said as they went into the bedroom that being naked for his surprise might be a good idea, and as she heard the door open, she closed her eyes.

“Don't look yet,” he told her.

She smiled as she kept her eyes shut.

“You only give me good surprises...I know this will be wonderful. My eyes are closed, believe me!”

He laughed softly as he stood there, taking in her naked form by lamplight as he stepped out of the bathroom, knowing she would _love_ this...

Kelly was well aware that she was wet. Her clit was aching, her thighs were damp and her whole body was silently screaming for him to reach out for her. But he didn't do that just yet.

“Keep your eyes closed...”

“Hurry up!” she giggled.

He stepped closer, shiny black shoes catching the light as he walked silently over to her.

“You can look now,” he said softly.

She opened her eyes and turned around.

“Oh wow!” she gasped as Dukken smiled shyly.

He was wearing a black suit with fancy off black lapels embroidered with silver roses. Beneath it his shirt was black, his tie was black and his waistcoat was scarlet. The jacket was long and flowing and the silver buttons in the shape of skull heads were open.

“Sexy enough for the gallery?” he asked with a smile.

She slid her hands up his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Prince of darkness!” she whispered.

He pushed her softly to the bed and she lay on her back, his gaze didn't leave the sight of her parted legs and her slit swollen and glistening by lamp light as he stripped off the jacket, then the tie and popped open the buttons on his waist coat. He left the rest on as he joined her on the bed, tugging down his zip and making her gasp as he got on top keenly and paused to suck at her neck.

“So I'm a vampire now?” he said as amusement danced in his eyes.

“You just get hotter as you get older!”

“So do you!” he whispered, covering her mouth with a kiss as he thrust into her warm wetness, letting her walls enfold him as he started to make love.

They kept the noise down, because Faith was in the bedroom across the hall. Kelly laid back and he raised her legs, his cock moving slowly in and out and then driving deeply back into her as she gasped and her face flushed and he watched as her fingers danced a rhythm on her swollen clit. He held back, fucking slowly, until she came and then he could hold back no more and he thrust in hard and fast, in and out in short bursts as finally, orgasm took over.

Then he lay panting in her arms. She kissed him softly and giggled as she looked down at his crumpled suit.

“Mr Vampire...”

“What, Kelly?”

“ _Cum stain...”_

“Oh shit!” he said under his breath, then as he met her gaze he laughed, getting up from the bed and looking down at the shiny white, wet patch on the crotch of his pants.

“I'd better clean that off!”

Kelly rolled on her back and gigged again.

“We have to stop doing this in your gallery suits!”

“But you won't leave me alone when I'm dressed like this!”

“Do I ever leave you alone?” she asked playfully.

“No, and I'm very glad about that!” Dukken said with a smile, then he hurried to the bathroom to clean the stain off the suit he planned to wear for opening night at the gallery.

Much later Kelly woke in the night, instinctively listening, her senses on red alert as she heard nothing but the distant roll of sea to shore carried through the window as Dukken lay naked beside her, sleeping soundly. She got up and put on a t shirt and walked out of the room, went down the hallway and paused by the window near the front door to look out and see the cop car further down the driveway. It was reassuring, even though it seemed unlikely that Melanie would show up here... She thought about the gun she had kept all these years, thankfully still in that box, she had never had to use it. And she probably never would, she reminded herself, then she went back to bed and lay beside Dukken, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep once more, as her worries faded out.

Next day Dukken was out the back in the studio, he had got up early to finish the painting. He was joined by Faith who came in, set coffee down next to the laptop and then she opened it up to check emails.

“Good morning,” she said brightly.

“Morning, Faith,” Dukken replied as he carried on working on the lighter part of the painting where flesh torn by a knife started to heal to a fading scar.

“Can I talk to you about something?” Faith asked.

Dukken put down the brush and turned his seat away from the canvas.

“You know you can ask me anything.”

She hesitated.

“I...I wanted to ask about Melanie Crow. About what happened.”

“You mean, from my perspective?”

She nodded.

“You don't have to, I just keep thinking about it because of the cops showing up and her escaping, it's -”

“Making you think too much?”

She nodded again.

Understanding reflected in his eyes as he spoke again.

“Then maybe I should talk about it. Melanie Crow was crazy. There's no other way to describe her. She befriended me, she seemed harmless, I had no way of knowing what she had planned. I remember years ago, I said, why me? And what I was told then, by a very wise, very beautiful police detective,” he paused, smiling fondly as Faith smiled too, “...I was told, Melanie orchestrated the whole thing. And that's right. She was a crazy person who thought she could own people by killing them and transferring their soul into a doll, an effigy she made in their image.”

“I read all this in a true crimes article,” Faith told him.

”And you want to know exactly what it was like from my perspective?”

“Of course I do,” Faith replied, “It's not something I want to think about, but I know it happened.”

“Maybe we should have talked about this before,” Dukken said to her, and he paused for thought, shaking his head, “It's not nice, but thankfully the nasty bit is very short – from my perspective. Every time I met up with her, I felt there was something not quite right. But she said her Mom had died and I thought she was grieving. That all changed when she turned on me in the kitchen, suddenly turned, and she lunged and then I felt the blade but it felt more like a punch, until I saw the blood and the shock kicked in, I had no time to react, she stabbed me again and that was when I went numb and my legs gave way and I slid to the floor. Everything went dark. The next thing I remember is waking up months later in the hospital. And that is my memory of being attacked by, and surviving, a serial killer.”

Faith blinked away tears as she nodded.

“Okay, I just wanted to know... thanks.”  
“Are you alright, Faith?”

“I knew it would upset me, hearing about it.”

“Oh no, I didn't mean to make you cry, I'm sorry -”

“No, I needed to hear this. I guess a part of me wants to know what we would all be up against if she broke in.”

Dukken looked at her for a moment, stunned by that remark.

“What she would be against is a bullet or two from those cops outside,” he reminded her, “Don't worry, Faith!”

She nodded, then she wiped her eyes.

“You're right, the cops would get her. I wish _I_ could get her. I can't believe anyone would hurt you like that!”

“It happened,” Dukken replied, “And then I met a beautiful police detective and fell in love -”

“And your scars and hers made a piece of art that made you rich and famous,” she replied as she started to smile.

Dukken smiled too.

“And here we are now!” he said brightly, “So let's forget about the past and look forward. The exhibition is two days away!”

That thought made her smile, then she paused for thought before turning back to the emails.

“This might sound silly, but I often think it's like a fairytale...how the brave and brilliant artist survived a serial killer and met the beautiful and equally brave detective who solved the case, and then they fell in love.”

Dukken's eyes reflected fondness as he nodded in agreement.

“Back then I was a guy who worked in a music store. Then I survived the worst and met a woman who had also survived the worst and we fell in love and I became rich and famous and we lived happily ever after.”

She smiled warmly as she nodded in agreement.

“In your castle.”

Just as he spoke again, Kelly walked into the studio.

“Oh, I haven't heard that one for years,” she said as love reflected in her gaze and she went over to Dukken, who got up from his seat and hugged her, “My favourite fairytale.”

”And mine,” Dukken told her, then he drew back from her embrace.

“I've just been talking to Faith about the day Melanie attacked me,” he said, “It's been on her mind.”

Kelly's eyes reflected concern as she looked at Faith.

“Really, there's no need to worry! That's in the past, she wouldn't be able to get near us now, Faith.”

”I know that, I just wanted to know what happened.”

“And now let's drop the subject,” Kelly added, “I'm about to start breakfast.”

“I'll eat later,” Dukken told her, “I need to finish this piece.”

“Breakfast, yes please!” Faith said keenly, and left the lap top and hurried out of the studio.

Just then, Kelly's phone rang. She pulled it from her jeans pocket and was surprised to see the caller was Sandra.

“Let's hope they've caught her, Sandra's on the line,” she said, and she put the phone on loudspeaker as she answered and placed it on the table.

“Hi Sandra, do you have good news for us yet?” Kelly asked.

Sandra's voice came through loud and clear as Kelly and Dukken stood together by the table.

“As good as telling you she's dead can get, for news of a death,” replied Sandra, “We believe we spotted her on CCTV taking a train into the city. That same person was ID'd at eight thirty this morning at a city station, and as a train passed through, she jumped. As far as we are aware, that jumper was the same person caught on camera believed to be a positive ID of Melanie Crow. It's just a formality to check the DNA, but we should have that confirmation soon, in a couple of days, maybe longer.”

“Cant you hurry it up?” Kelly asked.

“Kel, she jumped in front of a train! They're still scraping her off the tracks! You know these things take time. Be patient. But I think we can assume Melanie Crow won't be going anywhere apart from straight to the morgue in many little bags with labels on them.”

Kelly breathed a relieved sigh.

“So you're saying it's over?”

“I'm saying yes, it looks that way. Positive ID is just confirmation of what we already know. You can relax now. She's dead, she's not coming back, Kelly. Is Dukken there?”

Kelly glanced at Dukken, who was looking at the phone on the table, staring at it as the news sunk in.

“I'm here,” he said, “And you're sure she's dead?”

“She's dead,” Sandra replied, “She's in pieces, Dukken. It's over. You can stop worrying.”

He breathed a relieved sigh, but still didn't want to think of Melanie mangled on the tracks. He didn't want to think of _anyone_ like that.

“Thanks for letting us know,” Kelly added, “And as soon as you have that DNA result back -”

“I'll be on the phone to confirm, but we can assume it's over,” Sandra assured her, “I'll call off the surveillance and you can get on with the exhibition with no more worries. You're safe, I'm certain of it.”

Kelly thanked her again and then ended the call. As she turned to Dukken, his face was pale.

“She killed herself?”

“Yes,” Kelly said, “She's gone, Dukken. It's over. We never have to worry about her showing up ever again, she's dead.”

Then she pulled him close and they embraced tightly as the news sunk in.

Back at the motel room, Melanie Crow was very much alive.

The unfortunate woman who had taken the train into the city and later jumped had simply resembled Melanie, but it would take the cops a while to realise that...

As Melanie turned up the hood on the repaired doll she had made to resemble Dukken, she smiled.

“Not long now,” she said, as in her mind, the repaired face with no tape on the mouth spoke to her and she listened, and then she spoke in reply.

“That's right, you know what's going to happen. I'm going to kill you properly this time, and then, we will be together and you can forget all about Kelly. Time changes _nothing_ , Dukken. You even said you _wanted_ me to make a doll for you, remember?”

Madness reflected in her eyes as the paper face looked back at her lifelessly and she laughed.

“ _You wanted this! There's no backing out now, Dukken...Time changes nothing. I have to finish what I started, you have to die properly this time!”_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The days moved on.

The cops had left the house the day after the call came through about the suicide, and now they were used to having no armed protection about the place once more. But after what Sandra had said, it seemed pretty clear they didn't have to worry about Melanie showing up ever again...

Dukken was ready for the exhibition, and resigned to the fact that he would have to show up there even for a short while, because he had promised his wife and Faith that he would be there. He called Mandy and told her he was definitely showing up.

“And what time are you vanishing, Mr _Duckout_?” she said in a bemused tone.

“I'll try and stay at least an hour this time,” he told her, “On the condition we keep the no photographs rule in place. I don't want everyone taking my picture.”

“Done,” she replied, “And don't change your mind, you'd better be here!”

“I will be!” He promised her.

Later that day Dukken was out in the garden trying to relax before the exhibition, talking with Jack and Laura. Jack's eldest son was at work and JJ was helping out with his sister's baby daughter as she sat in the front room watching TV and drinking from a sippy cup as Faith split her time between trying to babysit and checking on emails about the exhibition, as she sat on the sofa with the lap top open on the coffee table in front of her.

“I'm glad you came over,” she said, pausing to delete another unopened email from _Nut sack guy_ who had changed his email address to _the next best thing Two._

JJ got up, retrieved Sammy's dropped cup from the rug and gave it back to her, then returned to the sofa once more.

“I guess there's no problem with you coming over after the gallery tonight,” JJ said hopefully.

“Well, now the _crazy lady_ threat is gone, we can resume our usual sneaking around.”

“Why don't you just _tell_ them about us, Faith?”

She gave a heavy sigh.

“Okay, after tonight, I'll tell them. I just don't want them thinking I'm not focusing on work. This is a huge honour, to be a part of the art.”

JJ put his arm around her and kissed her cheek.

“And it's a huge honour to be a part of your life, Faith!”

“Aww, that's so sweet!”

“And I mean it!” he told her with a smile.

“I know you do!”

She leaned in closer, but they shifted apart as Kelly walked down the hallway and entered the room to see Faith sitting beside Jack's son as Sammy sat on the floor watching TV close by.

“Sammy's going home soon,” Kelly reminded them, “Then maybe you can run through your notes about the pieces on sale tonight?”

“I have that in my schedule, I'm doing it right after Sammy goes home,” Faith replied.

Just then some music started to play on the TV. As Faith recalled something funny and giggled, Kelly grabbed a cushion from a nearby armchair, playfully threatening her with it.

”Don't you say a word!” she chuckled.

“Peppa Pig!” said Sammy as she clapped her hands, and JJ laughed.

“Who's that big chubby guy, Sammy?” he asked.

She pointed to Daddy Pig.

“It's _you,_ JJ!”

“Oh thanks a lot!” JJ exclaimed as he laughed, looking to giggling Faith, “I was hoping she would say it was my Dad!”

Kelly shook her head as she put the cushion back and laughed softly.

“You and JJ are just as bad as each other!” she exclaimed as Faith giggled again.

As Kelly left the room, Faith checked the final email, and then she closed the laptop and reached for her sketch pad.

“Shame none of these will be in the exhibition tonight,” she remarked, and as she flipped through pages of drawings of birds and landscapes, she suddenly stopped, seeing that word she had scribbled quickly on to the paper on the day she met the stranger on the beach.

“I still don't know what this means,” she said, studying the word as she had written it, then she showed it to JJ, “Remember that woman I told you about, who said she was a fan, she said she knew Dutch, too – I know it says lagoona, but that's not quite how it sounded. I know I've written it wrong. I wish I knew what it meant.”

JJ smiled fondly.

“While you're at the exhibition tonight, I'll take a look at all the possibilities – every Dutch word that might ft. Then maybe what she said will make sense.”

”Thanks, it's been bothering me. It's just that she said something and I don't know what it means. She walked off before I had a chance to ask her.”

“Hopefully I'll have the answer for you by the time you get back tonight,” he told her.

Out in the garden, Laura smiled as Jack mentioned Defiance, the art work on display that evening, the photograph of the two of them, taken years ago by Dukken, moments after they had made love.

“I definitely don't want you to sell it for us yet!” Jack exclaimed, “Let it get older and earn a few more million. Me and Laura will let you know when we're ready to buy a yacht!”

“I'm surprised you're not planning on buying a galleon!” Laura chucked, “You and the boys would have great fun with that, can you imagine it, a real one?”

Jack gave her a wink.

“Anything is possible, my love!”

He leaned closer as they sat at the table on the patio and wrapped his arms around her.

“I'll be your pirate king of the high seas! Give your king a big kiss!”

She laughed and then kissed Jack as Dukken and Kelly looked on in amusement.

“I really wouldn't put it past him to buy a galleon some day!” Dukken chuckled.

Kelly checked her watch.

“Don't stay out here to long, you have get ready for tonight,” she reminded him, and then she got up from the swing seat just as a car pulled up in the driveway.

“Our daughter's here to pick up Sammy,” Jack said as he got up stiffly, “One of our many children,” he added with a smile, “Do you ever wish we could have had more, Laura?”

“Six is enough!” she assured him.

Then Jack went off to meet his daughter and Laura rose from her seat.

“Good luck with the exhibition tonight, Dukken – not that you'll need it.”

“I don't really want to go, it's going to be full of people I don't know,” Dukken replied, feeling his shyness taking hold as he thought of the opening night.

“You'll be fine,” Kelly reminded him as Laura walked off to meet her daughter, “And I'll be there and so will Faith. It's not as if you're doing this alone.”

“But it's me they will all want to talk to!”

Kelly shifted closer, gazing at him with a look of love that made him smile and helped to ease his nervousness.

“Just remember, they are all there to see your work,” she reminded him, “Just think of it that way. And if it really gets too much and you feel overwhelmed, we can slip out the back way when no one is looking.”

Dukken smiled impishly.

“I was planning on doing that anyway, just don't tell Mandy I said that!”

Kelly laughed.

“It's our secret!” she replied, knowing she shouldn't really have expected anything else from her shy husband who loved to paint, but hated the attention it brought him. Then they left the garden together and went back inside. Tonight would be a big night, and Dukken was as nervous as Kelly was excited.

The sun was setting as the gallery opened its doors amid tight security for the opening night of Dukken's exhibition. Mandy was as charming as she was age defying, looking stunning in a scarlet dress that clung to her curves as she welcomed wealthy visitors, all of whom were potential buyers. The presence of armed security was reassuring, but nothing could reassure Dukken in a way that would kill his shyness as he stood in a quiet corner hiding in shadow as Kelly spoke to an art collector as Mandy praised his latest works.

Dukken looked elegantly vampiric in his Gothic suit, and not at all out of place hiding in the shadows – if he had fangs, which he did not.

“Come on Mister Artist,” Faith said as she walked away from the crowd with a bemused look on her face, “Come and say hi to everyone!”

“Not yet,” Dukken replied, feeling secure in the shadowy area away from the main gallery as he looked down the short corridor towards the gathering, “You know I hate attention!”

As she stood there in black clothing and make up, wearing an exact replica of the style he wore years before, Faith gave a shrug.

“Okay, but five minutes only and then you have to get out there, Mandy's looking for you!”

Then she turned away and walked off.

People were standing around in the main gallery, some looking at the work, others pausing to discuss it as Mandy spoke with potential buyers and Kelly stood there in a short, shimmering dress and high heel shoes that made her legs look like they went on forever. _All the way up to heaven,_ Dukken thought with a smile. He wanted to go home already, and take Kelly with him. Dukken took a deep breath and stepped out of the shadows, then he walked towards the main gallery, ready to make what he planned to be a very brief appearance.

Faith was heading for the second exhibition room when a woman walked up to her and asked to speak with Dukken. She was wearing a smart black dress and her brown hair was swept up and held with a gold clasp, and she didn't look out of place here at all, but she couldn't help noticing the woman's right arm was heavily scarred.

“I'm Heather,” she said, as if the name ought to be familiar, “I'm here to see Dukken.”

“I'm sorry but he's only making a brief appearance to speak with the gallery owner and personal friends,” Faith said, giving the reply she had been told to give if fans started hunting for him, “Are you a buyer?”

She smiled.

”No, I'm Ruby's Mom.”

Faith looked at her in confusion.

“Ruby?” she said.

Then a small hand tapped her arm and she looked down to see a little girl standing next to Heather.

“Hi,” she said with a smile, “I'm Ruby.”

“And you know Dukken?” she said in surprise, looking from Ruby to her mother.

Heather explained, and as she told her everything, Faith was sure her admiration for that shy artist who had married a cop and made a fortune had just gone even higher, if that could be possible.

“Three years ago I was in a car accident,” Heather told her, “And Ruby was with me at the time. She suffered severe facial injuries and much later she saw some images of Dukken's work celebrating scars, it was the photo shoot he did six years back for young adults with facial disfigurements. So she wrote to him and told him how his work gave her courage to get on with life again. And Dukken got in touch with me and very kindly paid for the surgery to help repair my daughter's face.”

Ruby looked up at Faith and smiled. The lighting in the gallery was bright and the two lines that ran down the left side of her face were still visible but obviously, had once been much worse. Joy shone in her blue gaze as she stood there in a pale yellow dress with her dark hair in a ponytail.

“I want to meet Dukken and say thank you. I want a picture with him, too.”

Faith felt in awe of all she had just heard.

“I'll see what I can do,” she told her, and then she directed them to Mandy's office where they waited, while she went off to find the shy artist who was desperate to sneak out the back way as soon as he could.

Dukken was listening as an art critic talked with enthusiasm about one of his paintings. Kelly smiled and handed her husband a drink, saw him nod and then he spoke a few words, then Mandy thankfully stepped in and he breathed a relieved sigh, said a polite hello to a couple of potential buyers, and then Faith tapped him on the shoulder and beckoned to him, and he gladly followed her back towards the corridor as Kelly joined them.

“You're awesome,” Faith stated, “More than that, I don't know what the word is, but that's what you are! I just met Ruby. She's here, and she wants a picture with you.”

Kelly smiled as she looked at her husband.

“You are awesome,” she reminded him, then she glanced at Faith, “He's always helping people, he just doesn't talk about it.”

“You're a hero,” added Faith.

“I think so too,” Kelly confirmed, and Dukken's face flushed.

“I don't need praise for doing what I can. I've always thought if you can do some good, then you should go for it. I could afford to help that kid, so I did it.”

Dukken glanced back toward the exhibition room. Mandy was handling a buyer.

“She's here with her Mom?”

“I sent them to Mandy's office to wait for you,” Faith told him.

Dukken smiled.

“Thanks,” he told her, “This is one picture I won't refuse.”

Five minutes later they were in the office and Kelly looked on as Dukken spoke with Heather and then her daughter, then he put his arm around little Ruby and smiled, using her mother's phone to take a picture of them both.

“You're the only person who can say they took a picture on their phone with Dukken,” he told her, “I don't take many pictures, Ruby – but I'm honoured to have a photo with you...”

As Kelly looked on, a thought ran through her mind:

_I love you so much, Dukken. You're the kindest soul I've ever known...I'm so proud to be your wife. I've always loved you endlessly, but tonight, I think I love you even more!_

Dukken spent another fifteen minutes talking with Ruby and her mother, then he reluctantly said goodbye and told them to enjoy the exhibition, adding, _“Stick to gallery B, Heather – the other one isn't for young eyes.”_

Then he walked off with Kelly as Faith went on ahead to find Mandy.

By the time they were almost at the main gallery room, Faith came hurrying back.

“Abort mission!” she said quickly, “Mandy is hunting for you, she said there's a ton of people who want to see you and talk about the photos and the paintings and you'll probably be here for anther two hours.”

“Thanks,” Dukken said, grasping Kelly's hand then turning sharply in the opposite direction, “It's time to escape!”

Kelly giggled.

“Okay, let's head for the car!”

“I'm going to stay till the end,” said Faith.

They both turned back at once.

“And _who_ is driving you back?” Kelly asked.

“Mandy.”

Kelly looked down the corridor, where she caught sight of Mandy taking up her fourth glass of champagne as she spoke to a potential buyer.

“Oh no, she's drinking tonight, you're coming with us. We're going to stop off at Jack's place and then we're going home.”

Faith gave a sigh. She had hoped to stay late, then go straight around the back of the neighbouring house, where JJ would leave a window open for her. Now she would have to go over to Jack's place, sit with the family then leave, and secretly go back later...

“Okay,” she replied, “I'll leave now.”

“Damned right you will,” Kelly muttered as they headed for the back exit as Dukken politely said goodnight to the armed security on the door, “There's no way I'm letting Mandy drive you back, she'll be half way to drunk by the time this place closes!”

“And you've seen enough of the damage drunk drivers can do, I've heard all that, you're an ex cop,” Faith said wearily as they made their way towards the car.

“Oh, I could tell you stories all about my years as a cop, about stuff you wouldn't believe!” Kelly assured her, “But I won't, you'll get nightmares! Remember I used to work for homicide too - me and Jack. We've seen some awful stuff, Faith!”

Dukken unlocked the car.

“Phones off,” he said, glancing at his wife, and Kelly turned her phone off as Dukken did the same to his.

“Now Mandy can't bother us all night!” he added as he unlocked the drivers side, “And you can give me all the good news about sales in the morning when the emails come through from the gallery, Faith.”

Kelly got in the passenger side and Faith got in the back.

“And when Mandy calls tomorrow, I'll say you're sleeping in late,” she added, “To give you time to make up an excuse to explain why you vanished tonight!”

“I don't need an excuse,” Dukken said with a chuckle, “She should expect this from me by now!”

Then he started up the car and they drove away, heading for the route that would lead back home.

The lights were on at the big art deco house where Jack and his family lived. The ocean rolled to shore quietly a short distance away, and the night was clear and pricked with stars as the moon shone full and silver in an inky sky. Sarah was over at a friend's house. Jack's older brother was spending the night with his girlfriend at her place. JJ was in his room on his laptop, keeping his promise to Faith as he patiently ran through a long list of Dutch words.

_Finally, he found it._

It was the _only_ word that sounded remotely like what Faith had written down, and as he looked at the translation, he frowned.

“That's weird,” he murmured, and then he picked up his phone and called Faith.

“It's okay, it's just JJ!” he heard her say as she answered the call, then Kelly spoke up saying, _Make sure you turn it off, Faith – or Mandy will be calling all night!_

“JJ,” Faith said, “We're on our way back – we're coming over for a while, too...”

“Maybe you can make an excuse to stay behind at my place for a while,” JJ said hopefully, “But listen, Faith – I think I found that word for you. Did she say Leugenaar?”

“Yes, that's it! What does it mean?”

There was a pause.

“This is kind of weird...”

“What does it mean, JJ?” she asked again.

“It means _liar_ ,” he replied.

“That _is_ weird. Or maybe she was being a smart ass, maybe she didn't believe me when I said I was working with Dukken on opening night.”

“Maybe, but it's sort of creepy,” JJ added.

“No, she was just being a bitch,” Faith concluded, “We'll see you soon.”

She ended the call and turned off her phone.

“Who was being a bitch?” Kelly asked as she briefly glanced in the back.

“Remember I told you about that woman I met on the beach? The art fanatic who could speak Dutch?”

Dukken laughed as he shook his head.

“Who may not speak good Dutch at all by what you told me!”

“JJ translated it for me. _She said the word leugenaar_.”

“Liar?” Dukken asked.

“That's what she said, for sure. I think she didn't believe me when I told her I was working for you, and that I was going to be working at the gallery on opening night.”

“Well, that's a mystery solved,” Kelly replied.

Dukken was looking forward to getting back, to stopping in on Jack and Laura and then going home. As he thought about the gallery and the work that would sell for a crazy amount of money, he was smiling as in the back of the car, Faith carried on talking about the woman who could speak Dutch.

“She told me what my name was in Dutch,” she was saying, _“She even said Dukken means doll.”_

For a split second, ice shot through his blood as Dukken recalled a flash of memory cold and sharp as that knife blade that had plunged into his guts as Melanie lunged in the kitchen and he slumped to the floor as his blood flowed.

“Dukken?” Kelly said, looking at him sharply, recalling all he had told her about the stabbing. She knew that phrase had brought far too much back to him as she placed a hand on his arm, to briefly remind him he was safe, and the past was far behind.

“I'm okay,” he said quietly, keeping a close watch on the road ahead.

“She's dead,” Kelly reminded him in a low voice, “Remember that, Dukken, Melanie's gone.”

“What's the matter?” Faith asked urgently, catching what Kelly had said as sure as she had heard Dukken take in a sharp breath at the mention of the word _doll_.

“Just a bad memory,” Kelly replied, “And nothing that matters now.”

She glanced at Dukken, he still looked tense.

“Live without fear,” she said softly.

“Always,” Dukken replied, keeping his eyes on the road as he tried to keep his mind firmly away from thoughts of the past.

Dukken and Kelly's place was in darkness. In the house next door, a TV was on in the front room and the sound carried out through a window left open to let in the cooling night air. There was glass in the top half of the back door that led into the kitchen at the back of the bungalow next door, it was set into small square panels, and Melanie had quickly broken the one closest to the lock and reached inside, her fingertips just about brushing the key, then she pushed her arm through a little further, hissing as a glass shard dug into flesh, but the key turned and the door opened and she stepped inside, then closed it behind her once more.

She kept the lights off as she sat the Dukken doll on a chair at the kitchen table where he watched with paper drawn eyes as she wiped up a drop of blood from the floor, then washed her scraped skin and grabbed a paper kitchen towel to dab at it, the cut was minor and the bleeding soon stopped.

She opened up the fridge and took out bread and butter and jam and made a sandwich, then stood there preparing it with a smile on her face as she looked at Dukken's doll.

“Memories,” she said, and paused to suck jam from her finger before carefully replacing the items in the fridge and then sitting there at the counter, eating the sandwich.

“I'd offer you some,” she said to the doll at the table on the other side of the room, “But you're not quite ready yet. We need to make you real, Dukken. We need to do it right this time!”

She ate half the sandwich, tossed the rest in the trash and then returned to the back door to clean up the glass.

“That's better,” she said when it was done, looking over at Dukken's paper face as moonlight shone in through the window. In her mind, he was sitting there oblivious to her plans, and looking just as he had sixteen years before. But he knew what was going to happen, she could see it in his eyes.

“This time I have to go with you,” he said quietly.

“Yes, you do,” Melanie told him as she paused at the sink to wash the knife and put it away, and then she reached for a knife block on the counter, drew out a thin blade and replaced it, choosing another much longer, wider and sharper blade instead.

“This ought to do it,” she remarked, and she playfully jabbed the blade in the direction of the doll.

“What are doing?” the Dukken doll asked, looking on in confusion.

“You're new,” Melanie told him, “You won't remember this part yet... But _he_ will, Dukken. The _living_ Dukken remembers everything.”

“Are you going to kill me with that knife?” the doll asked in horror as the blade caught silver on the moonlight.

“ _I'll kill you both if you don't shut up!”_ Melanie said sharply, then a flash of panic came to her eyes as she remembered the people in the house next door were still up...

“You're coming with me,” she said, and she went over to the table, lifted the doll and carried it through to the front room, where she sat it on an armchair near the darkened fireplace.

“You can wait here,” she said, waving the knife in the doll's direction, “This might get messy,” she giggled as she looked at his paper face, “But I can always make you a new face!” a thought had just come to mind and her eyes shone with excitement, “Maybe a _flesh_ face, would you like that? A _real_ face, Dukken's face?”

In her mind's eye the doll was the real Dukken in that moment, as he sat there pale and scared as he looked back at her.

“I really don't want you to hurt anyone, Melanie!”

Her face twisted into a mask of hatred.

“ _Then shut up or maybe I'll rip your paper face off again!”_ she snapped, then lights shifted briefly through the room as a car pulled up outside. Melanie ducked low, giggling as she darted into the shadowy place behind the living room door.

“This will be _so_ much fun, Dukken!” she whispered as she stood there waiting, blade in hand.

_Everything was ready now._

_The electricity had been turned off._

_The phone line to the house had been cut._

_There was a big surprise waiting on the porch, too._

Melanie just stood there in the shadows, happy to wait, because the wait would be worth it...

Dukken parked the car in the garage and then he and Kelly and Faith went next door, where Jack welcomed them inside and they went through to the front room. Laura turned off the TV and handed Kelly a champagne bottle.

”We don't need to ask how it went tonight, let's just celebrate!”

“I'm up for that!” Dukken said with a smile, then Kelly popped the cork and poured the drinks and they sat around in the front room, as Dukken described how he had made a fast getaway from Mandy and the scores of people who wanted to meet him. Then JJ came in, and after congratulating Dukken on the exhibition, looked to Faith and said, “Coffee in the kitchen?”

She pushed aside a barely touched glass of champagne as her face lit up with a smile.

“I would love to, you make great coffee, JJ!”

As she got up and followed him out of the room, Jack looked suspiciously towards the doorway, then back at the others as he leaned back on the couch and put an arm around his wife.

“Well, that was hardly subtle... it wouldn't surprise me if those two are seeing each other!”

Dukken set down his champagne as he exchanged a look of surprise with Kelly.

“You think so? Why haven't they told us?”

“Who knows,” Jack said with a shrug, “But I'm willing to bet she looked at my son and saw him for the chunky god of love that he is! It's the Astor charm, it can not be denied!”

Kelly laughed as Dukken smiled and shook his head.

“I believe you, Jack – I just didn't think those two were that close.”

“Neither did I!” Kelly said in surprise.

“My detective instinct has not left me!” Jack announced as he refilled his glass.

“I can vouch for the Astor charm,” Laura confirmed, “I met this guy while he was still a uniform officer driving a squad car.”

“I had to pull her over three times before she agreed to date me!” Jack exclaimed.

Laura laughed.

“And six weeks later we were engaged, and then I married him and he worked his way up to the homicide department, and here we are, years later, six kids, a beautiful home – a beautiful home thanks _you_ , Dukken – and we couldn't be happier. And Jack still has the Astor charm!”

He gave her a playful squeeze.

“I have the charm, and it's still potent, _every_ night!” he said as she giggled.

As they sat in the kitchen together, JJ had made coffee, and then he had sat down to join her as Faith thought back to his translation.

“I don't know why, but there's some kind of link to the word _liar_ and what happened with Melanie Crow,” she said in a low voice, “I was in the car, I saw his reaction, it freaked him out for a moment - especially when I mentioned she said Dukken means doll in Dutch.”

“And Crow's dead,” JJ reminded her, “You're probably right about that woman on the beach – she didn't believe you worked for Dukken the great artist, so she called you a liar in Dutch before she walked away. I guess that does make her a bitch... but nothing more than a bitch, Faith!”

He grasped her hand as the aroma of coffee rose between them.

“Stop overthinking this. Everything is fine,” he started to smile, “Rather than leave then sneak back in, maybe you can just stay later, after they go home?”

She nodded.

“Okay but not for long, it's been a busy evening and I'm a bit creeped out about the doll reference.”

He gave her hand a fond squeeze.

“I just want to cuddle up for a while, my head on your shoulder...”

As he smiled, so did she. His Dad was right about the Astor charm, it was a real thing and JJ had more than enough of it.

“Same,” she told him softly, then she let go of his hand and reached for her coffee.

A while later, JJ said he was going to his room with Faith to play a computer game. Jack gave Dukken a knowing look as they sat together in the front room.

“I'm telling you, those two are in love,” he said, and then he paused to reflect, “So much has happened over the years, Dukken – all good, and all thanks to you - this house, security and peace of mind, it means a lot.”

“That's what friends are for,” Dukken reminded him with a smile.

The champagne was almost gone.

The night was warm and Laura had suggested she and Kelly sit outside for a while, and Kelly had followed her out to a seating area that overlooked the vast lawn, and as they sat together and the sea ran to shore peacefully in the distance, Laura was a little tipsy and feeling emotional as she started to speak.

“I'm so glad the exhibition went well, you and Dukken deserve so much happiness, god knows you've done enough for us, both of you. We'll always be grateful.”

Kelly smiled as she touched her glass to Laura's.

“And long may our lives be happy and shared together,” she replied.

Laura paused for thought.

“You've always been like family to us, Kel. You and Dukken. I remember when Jack was shot...” she started to tear up. Too much champagne always did that to her, and Kelly briefly touched her hand.

“No, don't talk about the bad times,” she reminded her, “Let's just be happy.”

Laura blinked away tears as she nodded.

“Sometimes I think too much,” she admitted, not just about Jack getting shot, about me... Did you know, even though I have six kids, I didn't breast feed _any_ of them? Seriously Kel, the girls came along and they just wouldn't latch on. The twin boys showed up and I thought _Oh, two tits, two babies, now's the time to learn, Laura!_ But it didn't happen! By the time babies five and six came along, I was resigned to bottle feeding. And I have two healthy breasts designed for the job, I feel like I've never used them for their intended purpose! And there you are, with one breast, and I have two and I should have tried harder!”

Kelly started to smile.

“That's bullshit, Laura! You tried, it didn't work out, you bottle fed the kids and they all turned out fine!”

“And I've had too much champagne, and I'm getting emotional.”

“Yes, you are,” Kelly agreed fondly, then she leaned closer and hugged her.

A short while later, Laura was ready to go to bed and crash out. Jack was tired too, but they both lingered back, hugging Kelly and Dukken as they said goodnight. Then Faith opened a window and said she would be back in a little while, as she and JJ were still busy gaming.

Jack and Laura went back inside and one by one, the lights went off as they prepared to make their way off to bed. Kelly and Dukken walked hand in hand down the driveway towards the turn that led to their house next door and as the moonlight shone down, Kelly glanced at him, taking in his vampiric appearance in his Gothic suit.

“Perfect night for a stroll with a vampire,” she said with a smile.

“Shall we take that stroll to the beach?” he asked as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

”And wreck that beautiful suit? No, Dukken, let's go home... our bed's much softer than the sand!”

They reached the front door and as Dukken drew his keys from his pocket, the motion sensor kicked in and the light came on.

_And they both stared at the box left outside the front door._

“What the hell?” Dukken said in a hushed voice, the sight of it had instantly reminded him of the day he had taken a dead bird out to the countryside in a box, to bury it. He had told Melanie Crow the bird turned out to be alive, and had flown away, he had said it purely to make her smile at the time when she had told him of her mother's apparent suicide...

_Later, she had found the box with the dead bird inside it._

_And she had called him a liar._

_That was what the woman on the beach had said in Dutch to Faith._

_And there was a word scrawled on the lid of the closed box:_   
_**Liar.** _

His face paled as his heart raced. This was too close to old, bad memories long buried and he was breaking into a sweat as he looked at Kelly.

“ _This is freaking me out!”_

“I'll deal with it,” Kelly said, and she lifted the lid as Dukken gasped, looking on in horror at the sight of the dead bird placed inside the box.

“ _When I find out who did this,”_ Kelly fumed as she put the lid on the box and took it around the side of the bungalow and dumped it angrily into the trash, “ _I swear Dukken, I'll tear them a new fucking ass hole!”_

Dukken was still standing there on the doorstep, a look of fear haunting his pale gaze.

“But _why_ would someone do this to me?” he said, and the shock she heard in his voice made her anger about the incident rise even further.

“Because some fucking _idiot_ heard about the exhibition, remembered the story in the press about you surviving the attack, and probably thought it was funny to mimic an event from the case... They won't think it's so funny when _I_ track them down! I was a cop, _and_ one of the best and I _will_ find them! _I'll find the fucker – they won't be laughing about this when I get my hands on them!_ ”

“I feel like I might throw up,” he said quietly.

Dukken quickly unlocked the door and opened it up and they went inside and closed the front door behind them, as Kelly paused to put all the locks in place, just to make him feel a little safer.

_And they had no clue as they locked themselves securely in their own home, that it was no longer a place of safety - because that was where Melanie Crow was, inside, concealed and waiting for them..._


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

They stood together in the hallway for a moment, the light was on now and as she looked at him, Kelly saw real fear flicker in Dukken's gaze, then it was gone. All the times she had ever held him and placed her hand over the scar that ran down his body, all the times she had shed tears for his pain as they lay in the dark together and she silently raged at the wrong done to him, clashed together as Kelly held it all in, keeping calm, despite her anger towards the sick minded bastard who had pulled this horrible stunt and hurt the one she loved so sharply on what should have been a perfect night of celebration.

“I will find the fucker,” she vowed, “This goes beyond a prank, it's sick! Are you sure you're okay?”

As she said that, she placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed gently against the fabric of his jacket as Dukken nodded then took a deep breath.

“I guess there's a price to be paid for being famous, and having something ugly in my past,” he told her, “Why does it never go away, Kelly?”

“Because people remember dark things,” Kelly replied, “Your art will live forever but there will always be the story of the scar attached to it. The story of a serial killer and the one who got away.”

Dukken looked so vulnerable in that moment, she wanted cry for him. He was a good man with a kind heart, an innocent victim who had almost died because of a crazy person who lured him into a trap. And it was in the past, surely everyone ought to have the right to close the door on a horrible past? Jack had taken two bullets that had left him with life changing injuries, he had almost died in the line of duty, but he was allowed to move on from that. No one ever pulled sick pranks on him – but that was because he was just a cop. An ordinary, unsung hero - unlike Dukken, whose unique and brilliant artworks had put a spotlight on him, along with the dark story of his encounter with a serial killer, and there was certainly a price to be paid for that, he was paying for it right now, thanks to the sick prankster whose ass would be severely kicked when she caught up with them...

“Live without fear,” she said softly and he nodded, then he reached for her and pulled her close as they embraced, unaware that Melanie Crow was peeking through the crack in the door, watching them silently as she gripped the knife tightly in her hand.

“Bed?” Kelly said.

“I don't feel like sleeping yet, maybe I won't sleep at all night,” he replied.

“I understand.”

Kelly stepped out of his embrace and headed down the hallway towards the bedroom. Dukken went past the bedroom and into the kitchen where he took off his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair, then he started to make coffee. Sleep felt out of reach. He couldn't even lie down with Kelly in his arms and close his eyes for a short while, for fear of bad dreams. That dead bird in the box had awoken so many horrible memories, it felt as sharp and painful as yesterday:

_He could even recall the first time he sat up and that scar that cut down his body pulled taut and painful, making his stomach turn over as he fought the urge to throw up. He remembered Melanie's face twisting with evil, the flash of the blade and the blow to his gut, then the second blow that had sent him sliding to the floor. Then coldness, the ice cold chill and darkness that swallowed him..._

It was all rushing back to him at speed, all the memories he thought the passing years had healed, now they were back to haunt him, because of a dead bird in a box. He focused on making the coffee, as he tried to push away dark thoughts of the past. And there was a chill creeping about the room, or was that just his imagination?

_No. He felt a breeze..._

Dukken turned towards the kitchen door, half expecting to see Faith opening it up, because she was in the habit of using the side gate set into the fence and coming in the back way when she had been over to visit Jack's kids...

But she wasn't there and door was shut.

_And... what the hell was that?_

Dukken stepped closer to the closed door and stopped, staring at the sight of the missing pane in the door, just one small panel of glass was gone, right next to the lock...

He was still staring at it, wondering how, when, and why...

_Had Faith locked herself out today?_

_Surely she would have said something if she had to break the glass._

_No, they had been home all day, until tonight, when they went to the gallery..._

There had to be a rational explanation, Dukken thought as he tried to calm his racing heart.

“Kelly...” he called out.

“I'll be with you in a minute!” she called back from the bedroom.

Dukken opened up the back door, saw a shard of glass on the step, then he closed the door again and looked about the kitchen. He saw no glass elsewhere, and Kelly was in the bedroom getting changed, of course there was no one else in the house... Jack and Laura were next door, and they had their lights on until late, Kelly and Laura had been drinking in the back garden too, no one would have tried to break in with that much activity close by... He thought about locking up and taking the key out of the door, but this was the way Faith always came in when she was the last one back, so he left the door unlocked, it wasn't as if he would be sleeping tonight, not now, not after the dead bird and now the missing glass...

He turned back to the counter and focused on making the coffee. Kelly had said she was getting changed, he would make the coffee and go through to the front room, mention the glass and maybe she would have an explanation for it... And that dead bird had  _ not _ been left by Melanie Crow. Melanie was dead, he reminded himself, but still as he poured the coffee, his hand shook.

Kelly had got changed, taken off her make up and now she was wearing a thin sleep shirt as she stood before the mirror in the bedroom. The light was on in the hallway and the bedroom door was open, and as she stood there in the half light brushing her hair, something moved, she saw it reflected in the glass...

_A woman crossed the hallway in a black dress?_

_A woman with flame red hair and a knife in her hand?_

_Every nerve in her body jolted as her heart hammered and she set down the brush quietly, muscles tensing._

_They had an intruder ._

_An intruder who like... No, it couldn't be possible._

_She looked like Melanie Crow!_

The shock was giving way now to years of police training as her instinct kicked in:

Dukken was in the kitchen. The intruder had walked the length of the hallway and gone into the front room. And if it was Melanie Crow, her old colleagues had made a monumental fuck up – that body on the train tracks was somebody else...

 _Oh, shit, Dukken's in danger!_ was all that ran through her mind, along with her cop instinct for armed response as Kelly reached up for the box on top of the wardrobe. Sixteen years of dust caked on its lid flew about as she opened it up, taking out the gun silently. She made her way to the doorway, staying in shadow as she took the safety off, keeping the weapon in a two handed grip as she headed for the hallway.

Dukken was in the kitchen, she heard a spoon knock against china as he stirred sugar into his coffee. She couldn't call out, he was in another room, away from the threat – and she was the only one who could diffuse this situation...

Her mind was made up as she carefully, silently made her way towards the darkened front room:

_Melanie Crow was dangerous._

_She was in their house and armed with a knife._

_Kelly would blow her away with no hesitation..._

She stepped into the front room.

The curtains were open, moonlight spilled in. The room was silent as she swung the gun left and right, seeing no one. Then a lamp snapped on. Kelly's eyes widened as she stared at a sight that took her back to the killings all those years before:

There was doll sat on the armchair, an effigy of Dukken, dressed just as he used to dress sixteen years before, all in black with the hood pulled up, and a paper face marked with black lines etched in a replica of his old style Goth make up...

_She hadn't seen a doll like that since the Crow killings..._

And the door slammed into her sideways, sending her sprawling to the floor as the gun slipped from her grip landing somewhere in the hallway. She gave a sharp cry as she hit the carpet, then in the lamplight, she saw Melanie run at her, and as she lunged, she dropped the knife, landing on top of her and raining down punches as the air was knocked from Kelly's lungs. She reached up, grabbing fistfuls of her hair as they rolled, she flipped her face down and slammed Melanie's head against the floor once, then again, then a third time as blood ran from a cut to her brow. But that soft carpet had done much to cancel out concussion. Melanie raised her head, eyes blazing, and grabbed at Kelly's throat, slamming a fist into her face.

The room span as Kelly cried out, trying to hold on to consciousness long enough to yell to Dukken to run, but Crow had the double strength that only the disturbed could possess and every blow to Kelly's face had been savage. She tried not to pass out, but her head was spinning as darkness descended.

Dukken had heard a crash and turned his head sharply towards the hallway, then he head heard thumps and as Kelly cried out, his coffee cup fell to the kitchen counter, china cracking as coffee spilled out and dripped to the floor. He ran to the doorway as his breathing became shallow and his heart raced. There was a gun in the hallway, by the door that led to the front room. It was just _there_ , on the carpet...

_Kelly's gun._

“Kelly?” he said in a hushed voice, wanting to turn and run but fighting the urge as fear for his wife took over.

He walked slowly towards the front room. The first thing he saw was Kelly on the floor, she was passed out and facing the wall. He gave a gasp and hurried into the room, fearing for his wife – and that was when he saw the doll, sat on the armchair, its paper face staring back at him.

_A doll made by Melanie Crow._

He stared at the doll in horror, then he heard Kelly give a faint groan and turned back towards her. He came face to face with Melanie, whose expression was a twisted mask of rage as she lashed out with the fire poker. Pain sliced through his head and he knew nothing more as he fell to the floor bleeding.

In the house next door, Faith had just walked to the gate that led back to the garden, and JJ had his arms around her waist as he kissed her goodnight.

“I wish you could have stayed longer,” he said.

“Another time,” she reminded him.

“And maybe we can make this relationship _not_ so secret now the big opening night is over?” he said hopefully.

“Okay, I'll tell them in the morning,” she promised him, and as she turned to leave, he caught her hand, pulling her back for another kiss.

“Please, five more minutes!”

“I'm tired.”

“And I love you.”

She started to smile.

“I love you too, JJ.”

He leaned in, exercising that Astor charm as his heart skipped a beat and she pulled him closer, kissing him deeply again.

Suddenly all thoughts of leaving were chased from her mind as the two of them embraced, talking softly by moonlight.

In the front room, Kelly's vision was starting to clear as she raised her head from the carpet. She ached all over and pain was shooting down her leg – either a bad sprain, or a break. Her shoulder was throbbing from the fall and it had all come rushing back to her just as she saw Dukken open his eyes, giving a gasp as fear reflected in his gaze.

“ _No, this can't be happening!”_ he said tearfully, and blood ran from a gash to his head as he pulled himself upright.

They were both in no shape to put up a fight, as shadow crossed the room as Melanie approached them, knife in hand. Dukken looked up at her fearfully as he shifted closer to Kelly, who was in too much pain to make any sudden move to disarm the intruder.

_And that intruder was most certainly Melanie Crow._

She glared down at Dukken as he looked at the knife and then up to her face as their gaze met and fear paralysed him. He wasn't over that blow to the head yet, the room was still spinning. He felt sick with fear.

Kelly turned her head slowly, seeing the gun in the hallway... _If she could reach it, she could end this now, but she could barely move, at least not without help..._

“I'll deal with you later,” Melanie said as she gestured to Kelly with the knife, then she stepped closer to Dukken, her eyes almost vacant as she started to speak.

“Why would anyone marry a liar like you?” she said in a whisper hushed and icy, “You lie about death, who does that? Death is a necessary transition, Dukken – the doll is waiting for you!”

Dukken looked to the doll sat on the armchair, then as he looked up at Melanie and his head throbbed, he blinked away tears.

“ _Please don't hurt us! Let us go, Melanie!”_

Kelly gave a whimper of pain as she leaned against Dukken, who put an arm around her as they sat together bruised and bleeding on the carpet as a maniac stood over them. Kelly looked up at Melanie and drew in a deep breath to find her voice, and the effort made her bruised ribs ache.

“He lied to you about the dead bird. And you know what? He will lie to you again, maybe we're both liars who enjoy lying to people together! So why the fuck bother with him a second time? Why do this to _us_ , you're free, you could go anywhere and do anything, why do _THIS?_ ”

Kelly knew she had wasted her breath trying to pick at her twisted reasoning as Melanie regarded her with a gaze that was nothing short of demented.

“ _Because I can,”_ she stated, and then she waved the knife perilously close to Dukken's face as he shifted back quickly, making his head ache sharply as he dodged the tip of the blade.

“He asked he to make his doll!” Melanie exclaimed, “He _wanted_ me to do it, Kelly! And while you're still breathing, tell me this: Why do you think he's with you? He only wanted your scar for his pictures. He knows he belongs with me, he knows we have to finish what we started!”

“You offered to make me a creepy doll!” Dukken said as his voice trembled, “I didn't know you well enough, I didn't know you wanted to _kill_ me!”

Melanie's face softened for a moment, and then as it took on a look of almost pure innocence, she laughed hysterically as she stood there with the knife in her hand.

“You knew!” she said sharply as her expression darkened once more, “You knew the dolls could speak, you must have heard Mor speak to me!”

“ _No, I didn't, because it was just a fucking doll!”_ Dukken yelled.

“You killed her, Dukken. You burned her with me in the field. _You watched as Mor burned!”_

Dukken was trembling as he kept his arm around his injured wife, but now he was holding her a little more firmly as his strength began to creep back. He wanted to get up and grab the knife, anything to protect Kelly.

Melanie looked from Dukken to Kelly and spoke again.

“He helped me kill Mor,” she told her, “He's a murderer just like I am - and that is why I need him in the doll, it's all ready for him. I admit I was angry because he lied about the bird, that's why I stabbed him and killed his doll too. But I've made a new doll now. We _have_ to finish this!”

 _I'll fucking finish you_ , Kelly thought silently as she glared up at her, having given up on reasoning, because there was no reasoning with crazy. She was planning to make a move now, to lean against Dukken and push herself up, even if her leg was broken. She wanted Melanie's blood for this, and that thought stayed with her as she silently cursed her age and the level of her pain. She needed more time. She wasn't as young as she used to be and she wasn't quite ready yet to put up the fight needed to bring down this lunatic...

By now, JJ had returned home and headed off to bed. Jack was the only one still up, Laura had crashed out drunk on the champagne and he was yet to get undressed and join her, and Jack had been at the window, looking out as he watched the stars glow and heard the sea roll to shore. And then he had heard a raised voice from next door, and it didn't sound like Kelly or Dukken...

He had never known those two to quarrel, and he was curious and highly suspicious as he trusted his gut instinct and left the house, quietly opened up the gate and looked into the neighbouring garden. That was when he saw he light on, and heard agitated voices muffled by the distance, one sounded like Dukken, and the other... was not Kelly, he was sure of it. He walked stiffly towards the side of the house, leaning on his cane as he quickly made his way to the front, then he cautiously peered into the front room.

“ _What the fuck?”_ he gasped, seeing Melanie Crow, who had been presumed dead, standing over Dukken and Kelly waving a knife about. He turned back quickly, cursing under his breath for leaving his cell phone behind as he made his way back through the gate and headed for home, and his first thought was, he needed to call the cops – and he also needed to fetch his gun...

Laura was half asleep even though she had been woken sharply by Jack shaking her shoulder.

“Where's the gun?” he asked.

She sat up and blinked.

“Gun? What the hell -”

“You know, Laura,” he said urgently, “Gun shaped thing, it takes bullets, I haven't seen it for years? Kelly and Dukken are in big trouble, I just saw Melanie Crow in their front room, holding them hostage with a mother fucking _knife_ in her hand!”

She gave a gasp.

“Shit...no... _call the cops!_ ”

“I did. And by the time they get here, it could be too late...”

“We moved it from the closet years back...to keep it far from the kids...” she suddenly remembered, “The dressing table, third drawer...”

He was already there, recalling the key was taped beneath the table, and he ripped it free and opened up the drawer and took out the loaded weapon.

“Stay here!”

She got out of bed as fear reflected in her gaze.

“No, wait for the cops, Jack!”

“I used to be the cops,” he reminded her, “I know how to handle this!” Then he hurried from the room, gun in one hand and cane in the other as he made his way to the back door.

By now JJ was up, he had just caught the conversation and raced to the door, catching up with his mother as they looked out to see Jack heading for the open gate.

“I'm coming with you, Dad!” JJ said, his eyes wide.

Jack looked back, turning right around to compensate for his blind side as he looked to his wife and son.

“You'll damned well where you are, son!” he said sharply, “Crow's dangerous. The cops are on their way, stay in the house and look after your mother!” Then he was gone through the gate, and started to make his way back towards the place next door, where his closest friends were at the mercy of a maniac.

The first thing Faith had noticed amiss when she got back was the broken glass panel in the kitchen door. She assumed it had been accidentally damaged, and also assumed everyone in the house would be sleeping by now, so let herself in quietly. She walked through the kitchen and out to the hallway where she stopped, her eyes wide with horror as she saw a gun lying on the carpet by the door that led to the front room. She heard voices coming from within and crept closer...

“You're crazy!” Dukken said, and he sounded terrified.

“I'm going to kill you for this, Melanie!” gasped Kelly, and she sounded in pain as she spoke, giving a weak cry as she leaned against her husband. They were both bruised and bleeding, and standing over them was...

_Melanie Crow?_

She had a knife in her hand as she stood over them and ranted on.

“Shut up, you know nothing! It won't hurt,” Melanie said as she leaned in closer to Dukken, “Not if you don't struggle!”

Kelly pushed herself up on her knees as pain throbbed, crying out in agony as she used the last of her strength to lunge, but Melanie lashed out with the knife and Dukken's eyes went wide with horror as his pale face was spattered with Kelly's blood. She was clutching at her shoulder now, crumpled on the floor as she held a hand to the gash in her t shirt where the knife had slashed at her shoulder. And that knife, glistening at its tip with Kelly's blood, was now at Dukken's throat. She pressed the tip of the knife just below his chin as she looked into his terrified gaze.

“You always knew his day would come. We have an agreement. The doll is waiting, _don't_ keep the doll waiting, Dukken!”

And as she stood there with her back turned, he didn't dare shift his gaze from hers as he started to speak, knowing he had to keep her talking, because Faith had just darted into the room, and she was grabbing the doll while Melanie's back was turned...

“ _Oh god no...”_ he heard Kelly whimper as she tried to raise her head, and he got why she had just said that. She was afraid for Faith, who clearly, had something planned. Faith had seen the gun and left it there – she had never handled a weapon, and reaching for it risked putting her in plain sight of Melanie. So Faith had come up with another idea, she had run in as Melanie struggled with Kelly, and snatched the doll.

 _Smart girl_ , ran through Dukken's mind, despite the fact that he felt sick with fear for her safety. She had read all about the Crow murders. She didn't like to talk about it for fear of stirring up bad memories for him, but she knew enough to try something, and maybe this was all they had left to hope for... The door creaked as Faith brushed against it in her haste to shift out of sight.

Kelly caught her breath.

Dukken felt his guts tighten.

Melanie tilted her head, her gaze still on Dukken as she wondered if she had just heard a sound behind her...

“ _Melanie!”_ Dukken said urgently, as his head throbbed painfully and he forced himself to look up into her eyes, “I remember everything. I get it, you need me to die so I can go into the doll. Cool, you want me to live forever!”

He forced a brief, nervous smile as confusion clouded her gaze. But her grip did not loosen on that blade as she held it poised, ready to strike at the first sign of struggle.

“Of course I do. _But if you lie to me, Dukken, if you lie again, about anything, I will rip your doll apart!_ ”

One look into her demented gaze was all he needed to remember how it had felt last time she had plunged a knife into his body. And this time there wasn't just his own life to think about. There was Kelly, and Faith, too...

“I wont lie to you again,” Dukken said to her, “But I just want to know why you first started this, killing people and putting them into the dolls.”

She looked at him as if the answer ought to be obvious.

“Because I was all alone, stupid!” she said as the light caught on the bloodied knife, “People come and go, but dolls will do what ever I say. Like your doll, he's _so_ much better than the first one, look at him -”

She turned her head, her eyes widened:

_The doll was gone._

She stepped back from Kelly and Dukken, glaring down at them.

“ _WHERE IS HE?”_ she yelled.

Kelly took in a breath that hurt her ribs.

“He got up and left,” she said in a hushed voice.

“ _No, NO!”_ Melanie ranted, and she turned away and hurried from the room.

Dukken looked to Kelly as he reached for her.

“We have to move fast!”

“I need the gun!” Kelly whispered, biting her lip to silence a cry of pain as she leaned against him, trying to climb to her feet as pain shot through her leg and she reached out with her other hand, grabbing at the arm rest of a nearby chair.

Jack had made his way to the back door. He saw the missing glass panel, then closed his hand over the door handle and quietly turned it. He stepped into the kitchen where the light was on, then looked about, listening.

“ _Where is he?”_ he heard Melanie yell, her voice sounded distant, perhaps she was the front room, or up the other end of the hallway... He checked his weapon, then slowly and cautiously made his way towards the doorway on the other side of the kitchen, ready to venture into the dimly lit hallway beyond, ready to locate and take down Crow.

Melanie was confused as she dashed from the front room, then turned her head and stared at the sight of... Dukken, the Dukken _doll_ , alive and standing in shadow at the end of the hallway with his back turned?

“Dukken?” she said, still clutching the knife, “You're not supposed to be alive yet...”

And as she approached the figure in the black hooded top, it moved in a blur, spinning around fast and slamming a glass vase into the side of Melanie's head. Just as glass shattered and Melanie was thrown to the ground by the force of the blow, she caught sight of her assailant:

_Not the doll._

_Not Dukken._

_A girl, with long fair hair trailing out of her hooded top, a girl with make up like Dukken's old Goth look...It was Faith..._

Then she sank to the carpet as blood flowed, breathing hard as her eyes closed.

Kelly had reached the doorway and was clinging to it as Dukken looked down the hallway, meeting Faith's determined gaze.

“I got her!” she said breathlessly, backing further down the hallway, away from Melanie Crow, who was still down.

In that moment, silence passed through the hallway as Dukken looked to Faith, and then to Melanie on the floor, then Kelly breathed hard as she leaned against the door frame and gave a heavy sigh.

“It's over,” she said.

And Melanie's hand tightened on the handle of the knife as she sprang to her feet, eyes blazing with fury as she raised the knife and began to stagger towards Faith, who was backed up against a wall as her eyes filled with terror.

“ _Dukken – the gun!”_ Kelly gasped as she struggled to stay on her feet.

Dukken looked at the gun lying on the carpet, that hated thing that he had never wanted to touch, ever in his life...

As he turned his head, Faith was trapped against the wall with no where to run as Melanie raised the blade, staggering closer, ready to plunge it downward...

“ _Melanie, STOP!”_ he yelled, and she turned her head, stunned to see Dukken standing there in the hallway, with the gun in his hand.

“Drop the knife!” he said as his voice trembled.

Melanie stood there, knife in hand, looking from Dukken to the frightened, trapped girl who was up against the wall. Then she remembered how easy it was to stab Dukken the first time. It would be easy the second time, too - right after she slashed the throat of his dumb little art assistant. He wouldn't fire that gun, he didn't have the guts... She turned back to Faith and raised the blade...


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers!
> 
> Thank you so much for the comments and appreciation, this fic took a lot of plotting and I've been wanting to write it for a very long time! I'm so glad this fic is being enjoyed so much - and here is the final chapter. Get ready for a lovely surprise in this final chapter, too! :-) Love, Davina XX

Chapter 10

As Melanie raised the blade and lunged, Dukken saw terror in Faith's eyes as she yelled three words.

_Three words that changed everything._

Dukken grabbed the gun in both hands, taking up firing stance as he aimed the weapon. His finger slid to the trigger and two shots rang out, as both hit the target, punching bloody holes in Melanie's back and she hit the floor bleeding. The knife slipped from her grip as she lay there, blood spattering the wall and the nearby bathroom, covering the doll in blood spray that dotted its clothing and paper face as it lay on the floor where Faith had tossed it moments before she grabbed the glass vase.

Dukken looked down at Melanie.

She was dead, this time she wouldn't be getting up again. He dropped the gun, taking in a sharp breath as he blinked away tears and looked to Faith.

“Are you okay?” he said as he gave a sob.

Faith nodded as her eyes burned with tears too as she turned her head away from the corpse and stepped over it, then as Dukken sank to his knees, she ran to him as Kelly let go of the door frame and reached for her husband. The three of them were kneeling on the floor, huddled together and hugging tightly as Jack hurried up the hallway and took in the bloody mess just up ahead: Melanie Crow had been shot.

She was dead.

He put his own weapon away and looked down at them, placing a hand on Dukken's shoulder.

“Are you all okay?” he said urgently, “Kelly, Faith?”

Kelly looked up at him as they both hugged sobbing Faith and nodded as the wail of sirens were heard in the distance as cops raced to the scene.

“We'll live!” she assured Jack, and then as she met Dukken's gaze, she added, “It's over now, she's dead. We got her, Dukken, we got her.”

In the days that followed, Dukken, Kelly and Faith stayed at Jack's place while the cops finished up at the house. Dukken had needed stitches to his head wound and Kelly's leg had been badly sprained, and she had suffered two cracked ribs. But they would be just fine, they would recover. And it really was over, Melanie Crow was gone forever...

_Time passed by._

A few weeks later, returning to the house was easier than they had expected it to be – Jack had made arrangements for the hallway carpet to be replaced and for the walls to be redecorated. By the time they went back home it was as if the shooting had never happened. The press had grabbed hold of the story, but Dukken had refused to comment, and Sandra, full of apology over the mistaken identity of the suicide at the train station, was more than willing to help out too, simply by saying an intruder was shot and killed at the artist's home, and there would be no further comment on the matter...

As dusk fell on their first night back home, Dukken was quiet as he stood by the window, looking out to a garden shaded by gathering shadows pulled towards nightfall.

Kelly knew that look in his eyes, he was thinking about the shooting. Gentle Dukken had never wanted to handle a gun in his life, just as he had never wanted to learn how to use one...

But then things had changed, because life was full of unexpected surprises and even though Dukken usually hated surprises, after he and Kelly met, there had been several that came their way - and all of them good.

Thinking on that made Kelly smile as she stood beside him and he turned his head and met her gaze.

“You did the right thing,” she reminded him.

“It was crazy,” Dukken told her as he shook his head, “I had that gun in my hand, I was shaking, I was terrified – then I heard Faith. And I knew what had to do.”

“Of course you did,” Kelly said softly, and as she hugged him, she thought back, far back to the chain of events that had led to Dukken picking up that gun and firing like a marksman:

It was all down to three words, those three words that Faith had yelled when she had been faced with Melanie and that knife. For all her enthusiasm to be assistant to Dukken the famous artist, she was _so_ much more than that:

**_Faith was also their daughter._ **

And when Melanie had got up and run at her with that knife, Faith had looked to Dukken in terror and yelled three words:

_Daddy, help me!_

In that moment everything he had learned, everything Kelly had taught him all came flooding back as he fired off those two shots, taken over by the need to protect his child, his flesh and blood.

Dukken had never wanted to learn how to use a gun.

He had hated the sight of it, didn't want it in the house – but then, when Kelly was six months pregnant, Dukken had been working in the studio and the radio had been on. He had heard a news report, it was about a guy who had escaped from a psychiatric facility, returned to his former home and slaughtered his entire family. It wasn't linked to Melanie Crow. It was just a random terrible event in an often horrible world, but it had made him think. And he had said to Kelly, _“I hate that thing, I hate the sight of it... but I want you to teach me how to use it, just in case.”_

They hadn't needed to discuss what _just in case_ had meant. Kelly smiled as she recalled how difficult it had been, standing behind Dukken, trying to get close enough with her baby bump in the way as she showed him how to hold the gun in two hands and keep it steady... And he had remembered what to do, in that moment sixteen years later, when their terrified daughter had yelled for help...

Now as they stood together at the window sharing an embrace, Kelly drew back, meeting Dukken's gaze.

“Remember when I found out I was pregnant?”

Dukken smiled at the memory. As they stood there at the window, they had just seen the gate set into the fence open up, and JJ had kissed Faith goodnight. Faith had told them by now, that she was seeing JJ.

“ _Why didn't you tell us before?” Kelly had asked her when she finally broke the news.._

“ _Because I grew up next door to him and we're like one big family – you might have thought it was weird!”_

_That conversation had happened when they were all next door in the garden, and Jack had chuckled, adding “That's not weird, Faith! It makes perfect sense that my chubby son with the Astor charm should grow in a chunky love god who stole your heart!”_

_Faith had smiled._

_"Well he's certainly won my heart, Uncle Jack!"_

“ _We're happy for you,” Kelly had told her daughter._

“ _Yes, we are,” Dukken had added, “JJ's a nice guy...”_

Now Faith was sixteen and growing up fast, it seemed like such a long time ago, yet also like yesterday in his mind, as Dukken recalled the day Kelly had found out she was pregnant.

“I'll never forget that day,” he told her as they stood by the window and he slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

“You didn't believe it at first!”

“I didn't think it was possible!” Kelly exclaimed.

Dukken was smiling as he recalled the day the possibility had been raised:

_Sixteen years back, right after they had moved into this place and Jack and Laura had moved in next door, Kelly had been worried sick, because she just didn't feel right. Then one evening when they were next door having drinks with Jack and Laura, Kelly had come out with it and voiced her fears:_

“ _I am so scared!” she had said tearfully, “There's something wrong with me...”_

_And she had blinked back tears as she had listed all her symptoms._

_Jack and Laura had exchanged a glance, then Jack looked to Dukken, then to Kelly._

_"Don't worry, Sis. I don't think this is what you think it is,” Jack told her with a smile, “You're not sick, Kelly.”_

“ _So what else could it be?” she demanded._

_Jack looked at them both with a bemused expression._

“ _Are you always careful when you... park the car in the garage, Dukken?”_

“ _Of course I am, I love that car!” he had replied, and Jack and Laura had chuckled as they sat closer together with a playful look in their eyes, as Jack had spoken again._

“ _No, I mean, are you careful when you're... posting a letter?”_

_Kelly and Dukken looked back at them in confusion._

“ _What?” said Kelly._

“ _When you're sharpening the pencil!” said Laura._

“ _Feeding the kitty!” exclaimed Jack._

“ _Entering the castle!” giggled Laura._

“ _Filling her out like an application,” Jack stated with a wink._

“ _Batter dipping the corn dog!” Laura added._

“ _Cleaning the cobwebs with the womb broom!” declared Jack._

“ _That's a good one!” Laura exclaimed, and turned to Jack and gave him a Hi Five._

_Dukken and Kelly had exchanged a glance._

“ _Do you mean, when we have sex?” Kelly had asked._

“ _Yes, Kelly, do you two use contraception... or not?” asked Laura._

“ _Why would I bother? I'm forty years old and I've been through cancer treatment, it's highly unlikely I'd be pregnant!” Kelly exclaimed._

_And she had been right – it was highly unlikely._

_But not impossible._

_Dukken had shed tears of joy when he had seen their baby on the monitor for the first time when Kelly had gone for a scan. As soon as they found out they were having a daughter, they knew what they would call her. They would name her after what she had brought back into their lives, she was the miracle that had come along after it seemed there could be no more miracles:_

_They had both overcome the worst in life and then found each other. Now Dukken was a wealthy artist, and that seemed enough, for life to give them a happy ending._

_But life wasn't done with them yet._

_Now their daughter was on the way._

_Another reason to believe in the future._

_And so they had named her Faith..._

_Dukken would never forget the day she was born and he held her in his arms, as he had gazed down at baby Faith, he had thought about the world she had been born into, a place that could be harsh and hard and dark sometimes, as his heart filled with love and something fierce and brand new fired up inside him, something he had never known he could possess - it was the powerful instinct to protect his child._

“ _I'll love you forever,” he said softly to his baby daughter, “And I'll always protect you, Faith...”_

Their lives had been wonderful as the years had passed, when Faith was a little girl, her favourite fairytale had been the one he and Kelly had told her, and it always made her smile, even to this day, she still said it was her favourite fairytale:

“ _Once upon a time,” said Dukken to his four year old daughter, “There was a man who worked in a music store.”_

“ _And he met a lady who worked as a cop,” added Kelly._

“ _And one day the man sold his artworks and became wealthy, so he married the cop and he became a king and she became his queen.”_

“ _And they lived happily ever after in their castle,” Kelly had added._

_Little Faith had smiled brightly._

“ _With me, their princess!” she had declared joyfully._

As she got older, Faith had loved to be a part of the art, learning all she could from her talented father. But she still struggled to appreciate his more _intense_ art works, as she described them – especially Full Circle:

_Dukken and Kelly adored that piece, it was a colour photograph that would always be precious to them. As soon as Dukken had found out Kelly was pregnant, he had gone back to her old apartment, cut out the section of carpet where they had often made love – the place where Faith had been conceived._

_He had kept that piece of carpet for nine months, and when Faith was born, he had taken the placenta straight to his studio, laid out that carpet and dropped the afterbirth right on the spot where Faith had been conceived, and taken a picture of it._

“ _Eww!” was Faith's reaction to that tale years later, but the piece was worth millions now..._

“ _That's a lot of money for a big, gross splat!” she had giggled._

Faith had a great sense of humour – Dukken knew Kelly would never forget the day Jack had brought little Sammy over, and suddenly, as she realised what was on TV next, Faith had a fit of giggles and she sat down next to Jack:

“ _Uncle Jack,” she had said between laughter, “What's it called when... “ and she had whispered something, and he had laughed too, and whispered something back. After another fit of giggles from Faith, as the intro to Peppa Pig started up on the TV, Faith spoke over it:_

“ _I'm Peppa Pig...” and she indicated to her parents, “And this is my COUGAR Mom, and this is my VERY young Dad!”_

_Kelly had playfully thrown a cushion at her as Faith had another fit of giggles..._

Recently, Faith had been so proud to be a part of the art, to help her Dad with his exhibition. Life had been going great for all of them. And Kelly had come a long way from that day when she had punched out workplace bully Fiona for saying, _“Dukken doesn't love you. He doesn't even care you've got one tit, you're just a convenient fuck until someone better comes along...”_

Kelly had never regretted hitting Fiona that day.

But these days she was full of confidence, and had long ago learned to love her altered body. She had learned to love it even more moments after Faith had been born and she had put her child to her breast and started to feed. It had come to her so easily, that even to this day, all these years later, when Laura was feeling drunk and sentimental, she would reflect on how Kelly had managed breast feeding with no difficulty – while she had never managed it once, not with two healthy tits and six babies coming along over the years...

Life had been good.

It had all turned out so well for all of them.

But Dukken had _never_ expected Melanie Crow to come back into their lives and threaten their family. _And when she had, when Faith had yelled for help, Dukken had remembered exactly how to use that gun, and took up firing stance and put two bullets into Crow, killing her instantly, as instinct to protect his child took over..._

Dukken pulled away from his silent thoughts and looked into the eyes of his wife as he pulled her closer as dusk drew down to nightfall outside the window.

“I never thought I'd have do that, pick up a gun and kill another person,” he admitted, “But I knew what to do, it was the only thing I could do, when I saw her raise that knife and our daughter yelled for help. I'm just glad we're all okay and I'm glad it's over.”

“It is over,” Kelly promised as she embraced him, “We're safe now, we can get on with our lives, we never have to worry about her coming after us again.”

“I love you, Kelly,” Dukken said softly, and he leaned closer, kissing her tenderly, but as he pulled back, he paused for thought, glancing to the darkened world beyond the window and then meeting her gaze once more.

“But there's one more thing I need to do, Kelly, just one more thing, and then we really can say the past is behind us.”

“What is it?” she asked him.

He explained, as she listened.

Next day the morning sunrise was warm as the air blew in fresh off the sea.

Their cars were parked side by side and Jack was leaning on his cane as Laura asked him if he was sure he was okay to walk this far, and he assured her that he would be fine. They had taken an early morning drive up to the rocky clifftop. The tide was in and the view of the calm water as sunlight hit its surface was peaceful.

As he walked a little closer the edge, Dukken was holding Kelly's hand. As Jack and Laura made their way over, Faith and JJ followed on behind.

”I can't believe he's doing this!” Faith exclaimed, “You should have seen him with that thing, JJ! My Dad, my easy going, shy, quiet Dad – he grabbed that gun and took Crow out like the Terminator!”

“Your Dad is a very cool person,” he told her, “He saved your life.”

Admiration shone in her gaze as she looked over to the spot near the edge where her parents stood together as Jack and Laura looked on.

“Yes he did,” she said with a smile, “My Dad saved me and my Mom that night.”

At the place where they stood close to the cliff top, Dukken glanced at Kelly, who looked at him doubtfully.

“Are you sure about this, Dukken?”

“We don't need it any more, Kelly. Melanie Crow is gone. Live without fear?” he reminded her, and Kelly nodded as she made up her mind.

“Without fear. Go for it!”

As Jack and Laura stood there looking on, Dukken drew the empty gun from his pocket and tossed it over the edge of the cliff. It rose and fell in a wide arc, hitting waves that pulled it under as it vanished beneath its sparkling surface. As the wind ruffled his fair hair, Dukken looked at Kelly, then to Jack and Laura.

“Now it's over!” he said, feeling a huge weight lift from his mind.

“It certainly is,” Kelly agreed, as he put his arm around her and they turned back, as together with Jack and Laura, they began to walk away from the cliff edge.

Further down the slope, as birds dipped and weaved as they flew overhead, Faith ran around JJ, playfully flapping her arms like bird, then she laughed as he caught her and pulled her into a hug saying, _Gotcha, Birdie!_

As Jack and Laura headed back to their car, Dukken and Kelly paused for a moment to linger on the hillside.

“I'm actually glad you tossed that gun into the sea,” Kelly admitted, “I held on to it for years because I was afraid for so many reasons - I was scared of what the future might hold, all the bad stuff that could happen - but I'm not afraid any more. It's not just because Melanie's gone. It's everything, life, the future - I'm not scared any more, Dukken!”

They shared a look that reflected deepest love as Dukken pulled her close.

“Neither am I,” he told her, “Now we can both live without fear. Maybe it was always going to take this happening to do it, or maybe it had to take all these years to finally sink in - we're survivors. We can't ruin the joy of today because the past made us afraid, we need to live and be happy and not look back.”

“No more fear,” she said softly.

“Definitely!” Dukken agreed with a smile.

He leaned in closer and they shared a kiss, then they linked hands as they walked back towards the car together, leaving the past firmly behind them, knowing the future was going to be good, now no shadows of the past could lurk to mar their happiness. And it would be good, too. It would be better than good. From this moment, life was going to be great because there was no more fear - and that was something to hold on to, something to truly believe in.

End.


End file.
